


Reluctant Rulers

by reigenonice (TardisType221b)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Kitagawa Daiichi, Alternate Universe - Middle School, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bullying, Fluffy Ending, M/M, Teen Angst, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-12 07:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7925755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisType221b/pseuds/reigenonice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hinata Shouyou is excited to attend Kitagawa Daiichi Middle School, a volleyball powerhouse, but his dreams of becoming a star player are crushed by the rude awakening given to him by every member of his team. No one cares about a player who can’t perform.<br/>Kageyama Tobio is eager to become starting setter at Kitagawa Daiichi and lead his team to victory. But his arrogant nature and his genius skills lead him to be ostracized by the rest of the team.<br/>Two players. One too good, and one not good enough, both outcasts, come together to form the ultimate duo, but will they fly high over their teammates, or will they be dragged down to the ground?</p><p><b> TLDR; </b> What if Hinata and Kageyama both went to Kitagawa Daiichi?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is still being edited so there may be tweaks, but overall this is complete! Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Beta'd by kagsvolleyball - Thank you for all your hard work!!!
> 
> Art by helenrenee and bokvto

**Art by helenrenee**

"This is it, Shouyou."

The locker room was empty, the rest of the team having long since left the captain alone with his Ace.

"I know," Hinata replied, voice as serious as the small frown etched into his face.

They had been waiting for this day for so long. It was time, their last chance as third years of Kitagawa Daiichi to beat Shiratorizawa and go to Nationals.

"Did you ever think it'd be like this?" Kageyama asked, taking Hinata's hand in his. "That'd we'd be alone?"

Hinata shook his head. "No, but we'll make it somehow; we've trained hard. I know we can do it." He smiled weakly at Kageyama, squeezing his hand once before dropping it. They walked out of the locker room, determination to win broadcasted in every movement they made forward.

And they would do it, despite the crowns everyone saw perched atop their heads.

~*~

Kageyama had been playing volleyball since his second year of elementary school. It had consumed him; his only goal was to play as starting setter and become the best. The setter was the one player who handled the ball the most, and that, more than anything, was what he craved—directing the ball, controlling it, being the one the team depended on. Being the setter meant being the control tower of the game and leading them to victory. He craved the high of winning, of defeating everyone in their way on the road to Nationals. Everyday he pushed himself towards that goal with everything he had.

But he couldn't do it alone.

Oikawa Tooru was the captain of the Kitagawa Daiichi volleyball team, and while Kageyama thought he could be quite annoying at times, he grudgingly respected him. His skill and the ease with which he held the team together were beyond the abilities Kageyama currently possessed. Oikawa's patience must have been endless, because he had to deal with idiotic first years who didn't even know how to (insert really simple volleyball thing of your choice). He recalled, in particular, a certain memory of a hyperactive boy with orange hair who failed to receive even a single ball served to him during their first practice.

Dumbass. At least Kageyama wasn't like _him_. He was miles ahead of all those other idiot first years, and Oikawa had to be able to see that. Kageyama knew he would! But then why was he still waiting here on the edge of the court? Why was he merely _watching_ Iwaizumi—their vice-captain—practice receiving Oikawa's vicious jump serve? Why was he hesitating? Why were his hands shaking?

He had never been in this kind of environment before, where there were truly others beyond his level—for now. But he would take this opportunity! He would learn! Starting with that vicious jump serve. If he could learn that, it would only increase his ability on the court. Serving was the one time in volleyball when a player was fighting by themselves. Kageyama didn't have to rely on spikers to attack with the toss he set for them, he could attack alone. And he wanted to master it, to score service ace after service ace, just like Oikawa could.

But doubt overtook over him. His strongest skill was tossing. It was what he was praised for, what people called "genius," not his serve. Would he even be good at it? Kageyama shook his head furiously in an attempt to clear it. He couldn’t let his doubts get in the way. Oikawa was a good player, and an even better captain. He would teach him, even if he was horrible at jump serving. After all, wasn't that the point of practice? To get better? To learn?

Kageyama watched as Oikawa threw the ball up in the air, he ran for it, jumping so high, and hitting the ball with the perfect amount of force so that it was too difficult for Iwaizumi to receive, but able to stay within bounds. It was a flawless execution. He approached the court just as Oikawa landed, hair falling flat and chest deflating in a measured exhale. There were beads of perspiration on his forehead, the only sign of effort expended.

"Oikawa-senpai!" Kageyama called out. He watched with fascination as Oikawa's concentration snapped abruptly, like a rubber band stretched too far, and his eyes darted over to where Kageyama was standing.

"Oh? Tobio-chan?" Kageyama's eye twitched at the familiarity. Captain or not, that kind of nickname was uncalled for. "What do you want?"

He bowed. "Oikawa-senpai, please teach me how to do a jump serve!"

Oikawa chucked a little. "No."

What? No? Why? He had bowed, he had shown respect these past few days by calling him senpai, what more could he do?

Kageyama straightened up from his bow, a little crease appearing between his brows. "Why?"

"Because I don't _wanna_ ," Oikawa whined. Iwaizumi came over and smacked Oikawa on the back of the head.

"Shittykawa!" he admonished him. Oikawa glared at Iwaizumi.

"Iwa-chan, so mean!"

"Teach the kid!"

"No!"

"Fine, Asskawa, then _I'll_ teach him."

"No...." Oikawa whined. "You're supposed to try and receive my serves Iwa-chan!"

"Get someone else!"

"It's—it's fine Iwaizumi-senpai," Kageyama said. As much as he respected Iwaizumi, Oikawa's jump serves were in a whole other league, and he wanted to learn from him.

"If you say so. Don’t let Oikawa put you off. He's just jealous."

"I am not!" Oikawa exclaimed. He stormed off in a huff and Iwaizumi followed him. Kageyama was left alone.

~*~

The next day, after team practice, Kageyama approached Oikawa again as he was leading spiking practice for the first string players.

"Oikawa-senpai!"

Oikawa looked over, the corners of his lips dropping down into an annoyed frown when he saw who it was. "Oh? You again, Tobio-chan? What is it this time?"

Kageyama bowed, dropping his head low. "May I practice with you, Oikawa-senpai?"

"Can't you see I'm busy, Tobio-chan?" Oikawa scoffed.

"I meant, with the spikers as well, senpai. After all I'll be setter next—"

"Tobio-chan," Oikawa interrupted him, voice cold as steel.

"Yes, senpai?"

"Don’t forget, I could always train someone to take your place."

Kageyama's eyes widened. Take his place? He didn't understand. Why would Oikawa do that? Kageyama was clearly the best choice. He cringed just thinking about it. Some kid who didn't know what they were doing, setting for the team? Why?

"Oikawa … senpai?"

"If you're so desperate for practice, if you're _so certain_ you'll be setter next year, how about you practice with them?" Oikawa pointed to a batch of first and second years not on the first string. "After all, _they're_ who you'll have to deal with next year, Future Setter-chan." Oikawa sneered.

Kageyama deflated like a volleyball left out too long. Clearly Oikawa didn't want to deal with him today. He was probably busy—prelims for the Inter Junior High were coming up soon. Only three weeks away, now.

"Okay. If that's what you want, senpai." Kageyama bowed once before walking away, heading towards the second string area. The third years' whispers followed him as he went, crowding his ears until it was all he could hear. He felt his face heat up against his will, and he hunched his shoulders up.

_"Like he has a chance."_

Kageyama grit his teeth.

~*~

Practicing with the second string was better than nothing at all, but they proved to be … _troublesome_. It had been a week and Kageyama was already losing his patience.

"Hey, Future Setter-chan, think you could give me a better toss than that?"

Apparently, the annoying nickname the captain had given him caught on.

"Too fast!"

"What the hell was that?"

"I couldn't even hit it, idiot!"

"Hah, future setter! What a joke!"

Kageyama seethed. What right did they have to complain? He was their setter! Their leader! They should treat him with at least a little bit of respect! But no!

His shoulders trembled as he squeezed his hands into fists at his sides. His nails bit into his palm sharply. He needed to trim them.

But long nails were the least of his problems. When it came to normal tosses he did fine, but when he tried to do quicks, which is what they would need to beat the top teams that they would face in the Inter Junior High, any coordination seemed to disappear. The spikers weren't fast enough, couldn't jump high enough—they were pathetic, and Kageyama was getting frustrated.

"Maybe you would be able to hit my tosses if you actually put in some damn effort!" Kageyama shouted, unable to hold back any longer.

"Effort?" he heard Kindaichi, a fellow first year on the second string, retort. "We're the ones putting in all the effort! Your tosses are fucking impossible!"

"He's right, Kageyama," Kunimi, another teammate, chimed in, face impassive as ever. "It's not just him, it's all of us. You have to think: if all of us are having the same issue … maybe the problem is you?"

"It's not me, you dumbasses! I'm ahead of all of you!" If only he could practice with the first string; he was sure Iwaizumi and the other third years would be able to keep up with him.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Oikawa standing behind him, looming.There was a saccharine sweet smile on his face as he said, "Now, now, Tobio-chan. How about you go practice on your own? The second string doesn't seem very pleased with you."

~*~

A few days later, Oikawa stood to the sidelines of the gym, taking a short break for water. He had been practicing his serves almost non-stop for the past half hour and his throat was parched. He stared across the court, seeing the second string players practicing spikes, with a temporary setter, probably the player who got the short end of the stick now that Tobio-chan was gone. All the players seemed to visibly struggle, but Oikawa couldn't bring himself to put Tobio-chan back in with them. In any case, that dynamic obviously wasn't working; Oikawa had been hearing their arguments from across the gym that whole week.

He gulped down the water until the bottle was empty, his thirst barely sated. He was about to go refill it when he was interrupted by Iwaizumi, who looked apprehensive.

"What are you doing, Oikawa?" he asked.

Oikawa looked at him, brow furrowed. "I'm going to refill my water bottle?"

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean." Oh, that. He'd known this would happen. It had only been a matter of time.

"No, I really—" Oikawa tried to pretend he had no idea what Iwaizumi was talking about, but he should've known that wouldn't work.

Iwaizumi didn't even give him a chance to finish his charade. "Seriously, don't give me that. The second string is floundering, you have our best first year training on his own instead of helping him like he needs, and you're just enjoying the show?" Iwaizumi looked at him, incredulous. "I don't get it, Oikawa. Do you have something against Kageyama?"

"No." _Yes_.

It didn't seem like Iwaizumi believed him. "Yeah, well, if you do have something against him or not, that doesn't matter. What you're doing right now—it's not what's best for the team."

"You think I don't know that!" Oikawa hissed.

"So then what the hell is your problem?"

Iwaizumi was treating this as if this was something simple he could fix! Treating this as if Kageyama wasn't threatening everything he had worked so hard for!

"My problem is assholes like him who walk in with all the talent and none of the damn work! Don't you remember me in our first year, Iwa-chan? I wasn't nearly as good as him!"

Oikawa couldn't even imagine how being that good would have been like in his first year. Tobio-chan right now, was at Oikawa's level _last year_. If he got training and instruction straight from him ...

Oikawa didn't even want to imagine just how quickly Tobio-chan would surpass him.

He was supposed to be the best, the one to finally beat Ushiwaka and bring Kitagawa Daiichi to Nationals. He was supposed to prove it—to show everyone that hard work could defeat natural talent. He'd been playing volleyball for just as long as Tobio-chan, but he was missing that one vital ingredient, that spark, that _genius_. He didn't have innate talent, and so he had to work twice—no, three times as hard as everybody else to get as far.

He was captain of the number two team in the prefecture, he was considered one of the best setters in all of the prefecture, and he was respected and admired by his teammates and everyone else around him.

 _Why_ did one first year make him feel so threatened?

"That doesn't matter! You're our captain!" Iwaizumi snapped. "You're supposed to teach the _kouhai_ , and Kageyama is the only person on the team aspiring to be a setter. The only person he can learn from is _you_ Oikawa and you're the best!"

"Not for long," Oikawa muttered, eyes shifting off to the side.

"What did you say?"

Oikawa straightened up, looking Iwaizumi right in the eye.

"I can't teach him, Iwa-chan."

"Why not?"

"Because ..." God, what was he going to say? He could see Iwaizumi glaring at him with those accusatory eyes. He tried to come with a reason, an explanation for why he couldn't teach Tobio-chan what he needed to learn. But all he couldn't think of, the only explanation, which came from deep within his heart, came spilling out of his lips. "Because I _hate_ people like that!" he shouted, accidentally a little too loud, and most of the gym turned to look at him with wide eyes.

Oikawa laughed awkwardly, trying to draw the attention away from what he had just said, and soon everyone went back to their regular practice.

"He's gonna be better than me, Iwa-chan," Oikawa whispered. "He's not gonna put in nearly as much time and effort as me, and he's going to pass me like it's nothing."

Iwaizumi clapped a hand on Oikawa's back. "You're better than this."

Oikawa shrugged his hand off. "No, Iwa-chan. I'm really not."


	2. Chapter 2

The small giant. The one that Hinata aspired to be, was a volleyball champion. He was the ace of Karasuno. But Hinata wasn't there yet, wasn't at that level yet. He was only a first year in Junior High, still a novice. He had to start somewhere he knew, if he wanted to learn, wanted to get better. So that was why he joined the Boy's Volleyball Club at his new school, Kitagawa Daiichi. 

Hinata's first practice with a real team was amazing! Sure he didn't do so well, or do very well … at all. (He'd had a bloody lip from one too many receives to the face for a week afterwards, but that was neither here nor there.) But that was okay! He'd get better! 

But slowly that hope faded. Even after weeks of practice, improvement seemed a long way away. During team receive practice, fewer and fewer serves were aimed toward him, and when it was time for individuals the coach always sent him to Watari, the libero, instead of with the other spikers. He tended to take balls to the face while wistfully staring at tall spikers jumping up again and again, flying into the air to hit the ball with a smack that echoed all the way to where Hinata was standing across the gym. He knew they were writing him off as a libero because of his height, figuring he'd have no hope elsewhere. But he wanted to be a spiker! There was just something magical about the way a spiker would leap up to impossible heights and smash the ball right through the blockers' arms. 

The only setter on the team who could toss to him, however, was Oikawa-senpai, and the busy captain surely had no time for him. He was practicing with the other, more capable, spikers—the ones who were actually able to play during games and practice matches. 

Hinata watched as Oikawa set the ball for the long line of spikers gathered behind the net. His eyes followed the ball with the kind of longing usually only reserved for egg on rice and meat buns, fingers twitching against the ball clutched in his hands, itching with the desire to spike even just once. 

Hinata sighed, his whole form drooping. There was no way he would be allowed to practice over there. His only choice seemed to be to practice alone again in the other gym. At least that way he could avoid Watari … and the rest of the team's judging eyes. Dejected, he walked past the various group practices and out of the main gym, hugging the ball to his chest. 

It was a short walk to the second gym, and the whole way there Hinata kicked a stray rock down the path. Maybe he could find someone not busy with club activities to toss for him. It wouldn't be the same as having a setter, but a toss was a toss. 

That's when he saw him. 

He was tucked all the way in the far corner of the gym, despite the otherwise emptiness of the too-big room, water bottles spread out in an even line across the floor. He threw the ball in the air, and when it hit his fingertips again, he tossed it up in a perfect arc. Hinata's mouth opened in a little _o_ when the ball hit one of the water bottles exactly in the middle, knocking it down with a hollow clang _._

It was a perfect toss! The most beautiful he had ever seen, even better than Oikawa-senpai's! Hinata itched to run up and spike it. 

Hinata immediately began to enter the gym. All he could think was _Toss, toss, toss, will he give me a toss?_ but before he could get past the doors, he was yanked suddenly backwards. 

Hinata let out a yelp that would probably embarrass him later and turned to see Kindaichi standing just behind him, water bottle in hand. 

He looked strangely severe when he asked, "Are you gonna try to get Kageyama to toss to you?" 

"Yeah!" Hinata replied, his answer a punch of enthusiasm. Kageyama was his name, then. Hinata vaguely remembered him from introductions during the first day of practice. Kageyama had been playing volleyball for a long time. No wonder his tosses were so good! He grinned in anticipation of all the amazing tosses he could spike. 

"Kageyama is a rude prick," Kindaichi spat. Hinata's face fell. "Just look at his face. He thinks he's better than all of us just because he played volleyball for so long." 

Hinata glanced inside the gym once again to see Kageyama's face twitch at a missed toss. "I mean his face looks a little scary, but I want to spike his toss!" he declared, determined. Kindaichi looked at Hinata shocked and his grip slackened giving Hinata a chance to pull away. 

He went inside the gym, walked over to Kageyama, and held out his volleyball. Kageyama glared at him, and all the determination he had before immediately fled from him. He shivered. That glare really was horrible! 

"T-toss!" he managed, stuttering, forcing himself to meet Kageyama's eyes with his own. 

"What do you want, shrimp?" If anything Kageyama's glare was scarier up close, but he could also see that he looked kind of wary of him. There was a guarded look behind his blue eyes. 

"Toss to me!" Hinata burst out. In his enthusiasm, the words came out louder than he'd meant them to, and he blushed. 

"No," Kageyama replied without hesitation, prying the ball from Hinata's hands. He set up the water bottles again and proceeded to pretend that Hinata didn't exist. 

"Why?" Hinata demanded. _Why wouldn't anyone help him?_ Kageyama paused where he was setting up the waterbottles and turned to look at him. 

"Because you suck." 

Hinata's mouth dropped open at his blunt honesty. "You've never even seen me spike!" 

"If your receives and serves are that shitty, then you suck. Simple as that." 

"But—" 

"I said no. Now leave, I'm practicing." With a finality that was hard for even Hinata to argue with, Kageyama turned back to his practice. 

Left with no other option and no partner to speak of, Hinata stalked off back to the other first years, huffing and muttering under his breath all the way. 

"Told you," Kindaichi said when he returned. "The guy is a stuck up dick." 

"I don't care," Hinata replied. "I'm gonna try again tomorrow." 

Kindaichi raised an eyebrow and turned away, shaking his head. "Your funeral." 

Just as promised, Hinata tried again the next day. 

Kageyama glared as Hinata got close to him, interrupting him from doing the same drill as yesterday. "You again?" 

Hinata shivered under the force of Kageyama's ferocious glare but he was determined, he would not back down. 

"Can you toss—?" 

"No," Kageyama cut him off, voice lacking any sign of remorse. Hinata sighed and watched as Kageyama abruptly turned and walked away. 

The next day Hinata tried something different. 

Rather than wait for individual practice to start, Hinata approached Kageyama during warm ups. "Can I help you stretch, Kageyama?" he asked, trying to give his brightest and friendliest smile. 

Kageyama gave him a weird look. "Why?" 

"Because you need a partner." He'd noticed yesterday that Kageyama had stretched all alone. Hinata had, too, but that wasn't the point. 

"Okay ..." Kageyama agreed warily. "This doesn't mean that I'm going to toss to you," he warned as he got into position to stretch, all the while continuing to eye Hinata like he'd grown an extra head. 

"I know!" Hinata smiled cheerfully. Kageyama could be kind of mean but … He seemed lonely. 

They helped each other stretch. It wasn't bad, even though Kageyama pushed too hard on his back. 

When it was time for laps, they ran side by side. 

"What are you doing?" Kageyama asked as Hinata fell into step beside him. "You trying to race?" 

Well, no. He hadn't been planning that at all, but maybe if he was faster than Kageyama he could prove he didn't suck! 

"Yeah! You're going down!" Hinata exclaimed, and sped up, racing ahead of Kageyama. 

"Get back here dumbass!" Kageyama shouted back, speeding off after him. They spent the rest of the time running laps, chasing each other. Hinata had never had this much fun doing drills before in his life. When they finished, they were panting, soaked with sweat from the exertion. 

"Hah!" Hinata exclaimed as he recovered from his shortness of breath. "I won!" 

"You … had a head start," Kageyama protested weakly between pants. 

"Yeah, but your legs are longer, so we're even!" 

"That's not how it works!" Kageyama exclaimed, his breaths finally gone even and slow again. 

"Yeah it does! I beat you!" Hinata shouted indignantly. 

"Did not!" 

"Did too!" 

"Did _not!_ " 

"Did _too!_ " 

" _Did not!_ " 

" _Did too!_ " 

They were cut off abruptly by a harsh wack on each of their heads and a shouted, "You're disrupting practice!" 

When they turned around, they saw Iwaizumi standing with his hands on his hips, a vein in his forehead bulging. 

"Senpai!" Kageyama protested. "This dumbass started it!" 

"Idiot! I did not!" 

"Well, both of you are _ending it_. _Now,_ "Iwaizumi all but growled. 

"Yes, senpai!" they both shouted simultaneously, straightening up despite themselves. 

"Good. Now, get started on drills! Both of you will be doing extra!" 

_Damn._ Hinata thought. _Extra? That sucked._ He was already exhausted from all that running, and Kageyama didn't look any better. 

The team finished their drills quickly, and while Kageyama and Hinata took a break for water, the others moved on to individual practice. 

"Can I—well, after we finish our extra drills—can I practice with you, Kageyama?" Hinata asked as Kageyama gulped down water. 

When he was finished, he stared at Hinata for a moment before giving a simple, "Okay." 

"Ehhh?" Hinata's mouth fell open comically, his eyes widening. 

"What?" Kageyama snapped. 

"I just … I didn't think you'd say yes!" Hinata felt so giddy he was almost trembling with it. He got Kageyama to say yes! 

He ran off to get the ball, forgetting all about the extra drills. "Toss, toss, toss," he sing-songed happily to himself as he all but skipped over to the ball basket. 

He brought the ball back over to Kageyama and held it out. "Toss to me?" 

This time, Kageyama accepted it. "Alright, dumbass. Let's see what you can do." 

~*~ 

"There's no hope," Kageyama said solemnly. "You suck." 

They'd been practicing for an hour and a half but Hinata still hadn't been able to strike a single one of Kageyama's tantalizingly perfect tosses. 

Hinata made a noise of protest, but Kageyama cut him off. 

"You can run fast and jump high, but you can't hit the ball!" 

"I'm sorry, Kageyama," Hinata apologized. He just wanted tosses. Kageyama had _finally_ agreed to practice with him, and then Hinata went and messed it all up like this. 

"Don't apologize, dumbass. You've gotta learn the basics. I can spike, too, you know. I'll teach you." 

"You can?" Hinata asked, surprised. He couldn't imagine Kageyama with his perfect, beautiful tosses as a spiker. 

"Yeah," Kageyama replied. He held out the ball. "Toss to me?" 

Hinata tried his best to imitate Kageyama's toss, but it veered off course.Kageyama jumped for it anyway, though, and spiked a perfect straight. 

"Whoa! That spike was so gwahh!" Hinata jumped up and down excitedly after seeing the beautifully executed spike. 

"Speak Japanese, dumbass!" 

"You're so cool, Kageyama!" Hinata exclaimed. 

Kageyama turned away, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks."What? Idiot! You don't just say shit like that!" 

"Teach me, Kageyama-sensei!" 

"No! Do not call me that!" 

"Kageyama-san?" 

"No … just Kageyama. Okay?" 

"Okay!" 

After Kageyama had finally gotten Hinata to stop making that weirdly impressed face at him, he went through the spiking form in slow motion so Hinata could see every movement to effectively copy it. But Hinata still didn't understand. Or rather, he understood, but hitting Kageyama's tosses still seemed to be impossible for him. 

Kageyama could tell it was a lost cause. Hinata and synchronization did not seem to go together. He knew that in order to make Hinata the spiker he wanted to be, then he would have to teach him the very basics. 

But that begged the question: Why did Kageyama even care? 

If Kageyama wanted to be efficient about his time, then he should just give up on Hinata now; what was the point in training someone so inexperienced when he could practice much better on his own? But even though Hinata was just a little pest, somehow the idea of denying Hinata now, after seeing his bright smile and unbridled enthusiasm, felt so wrong. Like a pet that followed him home, he just couldn't seem to keep himself from taking Hinata in. 

But he was deluding himself. Kageyama knew the real reason why he couldn't step back and leave Hinata to his own devices, and it had nothing to do with his smile, no matter how infectious it was. Rather, each and every time Hinata tried to spike, he would jump with all his might, soaring up into the air far above even Kageyama's head. Even though he never actually hit the ball, it didn't matter—not with a jump like that. Kageyama could understand why Hinata wanted to be a spiker. Logic dictated he should be a libero: He was short—too short for volleyball—and had reaction times that would be hard to rival even in the libero world. But every time Kageyama saw that jump, it made him rethink those first assumptions. Each time, he saw just how talented Hinata really was, saw the potential that the rest of the team had overlooked, saw how wasted he'd be as a libero. With that jump, a good toss, and the right strategy, Hinata could surely one day become the Ace. 

Though he'd never actually tell him that, or he'd be insufferable. 

So Kageyama resigned himself to what he'd apparently unwittingly signed up for: He had to teach Hinata volleyball. 

It wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be. He'd never had anyone to talk to who was as obsessed with volleyball as him, so, even though he had to sacrifice hours of his own training, helping Hinata was strangely … nice. 

But no matter how nice it was, that didn't mean he never lost his temper. In fact, seeing as Hinata sucked at everything in volleyball, it actually happened quite often. 

While serving— 

"No, dumbass, you're not supposed to hit the ball into the net!" 

"I'm trying, Kageyama!" 

"Try harder!" 

Blocking— 

"Don't just jump the minute you see the ball! The opponent could be doing a feint!" 

"But I see the ball and I have to jump right away! Otherwise I won't make it!" 

Receiving— 

"Don't just hit the ball in the air, you need to send it back to me. Then I can toss it!" 

"I can't control it!" 

Kageyama walked over to him from where he was serving on the other side of the net and grabbed Hinata's arms, moving him into the proper position. "Look, your form is all off, bend your knees a little more. Turn your arms like this." 

"Thank you … Kageyama." 

This close to Hinata, Kageyama could feel the heat radiating off his body, could see the minute rising and falling of his chest as he breathed. Kageyama swallowed. For some reason, his heart was thumping fast in his chest all of a sudden, beating hard against his ribs like a wild animal against a cage. He jerked away, dropping Hinata's arms like they'd scalded him and turning around quickly so Hinata couldn't see his burning face. 

"Y-you should be good now!" Kageyama exclaimed, stalking back to the other side of the net with long, awkward strides. What had gotten into him all of a sudden? His head felt light and floaty, like he'd sat up suddenly after lying down too long. Kageyama shook his head to clear it and served once again. This time around, Hinata received it just fine. 

Yet, despite some slight improvement in receiving, one issue still remained: Hinata couldn't spike Kageyama's tosses. It didn't make any sense; Hinata's form was good, and his jump got him high enough to hit it, and yet, somehow, he missed every single time without fail. The coordination, it seemed, was simply not there. 

Days passed, and while the other skills Kageyama had been teaching Hinata improved, his spikes did not. Each day, Kageyama could see Hinata's bright smile and boundless optimism slowly start to fade, until one day, after missing what seemed like the hundredth toss in a row, Hinata sat down on the floor of the gym with his water bottle, and said, "I don't want to do this anymore, Kageyama." 

Kageyama looked at Hinata, confused. "Are you tired or something?" 

Hinata shook his head. "No, I just … I just realized that I won't be able to do this. The captain and Watari were right—maybe I'm better off as a libero." 

Kageyama looked down at where Hinata was sitting, incredulous.

"Dumbass! Are you just gonna let all the work we did be for nothing? Don't you want to be a spiker?" 

"Yes but there's _no point,_ Kageyama!" Hinata exclaimed. He sighed. "I'm done." 

Kageyama glared. "So you're giving up?" 

"Yes." 

"You're an idiot." 

"I … I know. But at least I can still play volleyball.” 

Kageyama made a frustrated noise low in his throat. “No! Don’t settle!" He took a deep breath, trying to explain, "Look, I can spike. I could have just been a spiker and Oikawa-senpai would have liked me, because he wouldn’t have been blinded with jealousy. I could have been in that other gym practicing with the rest of the team but that’s not what I chose, because I wasn’t going to settle for being a spiker when that wasn’t what I really wanted.” Kageyama sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Now I’m here with your dumb ass and you’re just gonna _give up_? No way.” He grabbed Hinata and dragged him up from the floor. 

“What do you want, Kageyama?” Hinata snapped as he stumbled into a standing position. 

“Practice. Now.” 

“No.” Hinata shook his head stubbornly. He started to walk away when Kageyama grabbed his wrist to stop him. The look Hinata sent his way was utterly devastating. Kageyama didn’t know how to get through to him, but he had to try whatever he could to convince Hinata of the talent and potential Kageyama knew he possessed. 

“' _I want to be just like him, The Small Giant! I wanna jump so high that I can spike from anywhere. I want to be the Ace!'_ That’s what you told me, Hinata. And you’re just gonna give that all up? After a only a _week_?” 

“You wouldn’t understand!” Hinata shouted. 

"Try me!" 

"Y-you're talented! You're really good at volleyball! You're a better spiker than me and you're a _setter_. You have all of this! I bet that if you practiced as hard as I did on one thing for a week you'd see some improvement, anything, _anything at all_ , but not for me." Hinata visibly deflated after that rant, and looked down at the floor. "That's why I'm done, okay?" 

"You dumbass! You've only been playing for a few weeks! I've been playing volleyball since second year of elementary school! Of course I'm better!" Kageyama exclaimed, exasperated. "Besides … I—" Kageyama turned away, face turning red. "You're supposed to be _my_ spiker." 

Hinata looked at him incredulously, eyes wide. "Ehhh? Your spiker?" 

"Yeah, well, we're friends aren't we?" Kageyama held back the urge to wring his hands anxiously. What if Hinata didn't want to be his friend? What if he only cared about him because of his tosses? And now that he didn't want to spike, would he be useless? Unwanted? 

Out of the other spikers on his team, Hinata was the only one he even remotely got along with—the only one he could even begin to consider a friend. And he may have just ruined everything. 

Hinata beamed. "Of course we're friends, Kageyama!" he exclaimed. "I mean … I didn't know you wanted to be friends." _I actually thought you didn't like me at all._ "But I'm glad. I'm really happy to be your friend, Kageyama … But I can't be your spiker." 

Kageyama cocked his head to the side, eyebrows furrowed. "Why not?" 

"I'll never get better! And you know that! You'll get dragged down with me!" 

"What? No way! If anything I would be dragged down by those assholes in the other gym who don't respect the importance of a setter's toss! You do!" 

"Yeah but that doesn't mean anything if I can't spike." 

Kageyama glared at Hinata, making him shiver. Kageyama knew just how his glare affected Hinata and used it to its full potential as he said, "Stop being a dumbass. Did you hit your head on the way here this morning? Because that's the only reason I can think of that would cause you to say all this bullshit. You know me well enough by now, Hinata. I have high standards. And I want _you_ to be my spiker." 

"Really, Kageyama?" 

"Don’t make me say it again." 

"I really don't get why you want _me_ to be your spiker but I'll try my best! I'll be the best spiker you've ever worked with! I swear!" 

"So no more talk about being a libero?" Kageyama questioned. 

"No!" 

"Good." 

A knock at the door made them both turn around and they watched as Iwaizumi peeked his head in through the open doors, calling out, "Hey, I heard some shouting. Everything okay in here?" 

"Iwaizumi-senpai!" Hinata exclaimed, causing Iwaizumi to notice them in the back corner. He started walking towards them, steps echoing in the otherwise empty gym. 

"Everything is fine," Kageyama answered Iwaizumi's question. 

"I haven't seen you two in the main gym for individual practice for a while," Iwaizumi said, coming to a stop near them. "What have you two been working on in here?" 

Hinata jumped to answer, "Oh, nothin—" 

"I've been trying to teach Hinata how to spike, but our coordination is a bit off," Kageyama interrupted him. 

Hinata glared at Kageyama, who just steadily ignored him. 

Iwaizumi seemed pensive at that. "Hmm, okay. Why don't you two show me what you've been doing so I can help.” 

Hinata sighed, making Kageyama's chest clench with something close to guilt. Kageyama knew he really didn't want Iwaizumi to see how bad he was, but there was no other choice if Hinata wanted to get better. He needed to learn from someone other than Kageyama himself, and Iwaizumi was the epitome of everything that Hinata wanted to be: a powerful wing spiker with a high jump and good coordination with his setter. 

Hinata would just have to suck it up and show Iwaizumi his weaknesses. 


	3. Chapter 3

Hinata's heart was beating hard and fast in his chest, an arrhythmic drumbeat against his ribcage. He stumbled as he stepped up to the net, his legs shaking in uncontrollable little shivers under him. One single thought was overtaking him: He would have to show the vice-captain just how bad he was. 

Hinata knew just how high Kitagawa Daiichi's standards were—they were the number two team in the prefecture, after all. What if he was kicked off the team? Doubts started to overwhelm him. He looked at Kageyama pleadingly, but he just continued looking straight forward, ignoring him completely. 

Hinata looked at the net despairingly, sighing. _I guess I have to get it over with, then,_ he thought. 

Hinata took a deep breath as Kageyama set up the toss. He focused his eyes on the ball and channeled every ounce of his power into jumping as high as he could, using all of the techniques that Kageyama had been ingraining in him. He _couldn't_ fail—not this time, not in front of his senpai. 

His heart sank in despair when his fingers just barely managed to brush the ball, the most progress that he had made in a long while, but, of course, nowhere near good enough. He landed back down on the ground with a dejected _thump_ , the ball falling down next to him and bouncing once, twice, three times, before rolling away. Hinata and Kageyama shared a glance, then both looked up at the sound of Iwaizumi's voice. 

"Hmm, well, Hinata has proper form," he stated, "but your coordination is clearly lacking." 

"Yeah, I figured that out," Kageyama replied, leaning down to pick up the volleyball that had rolled over to him, "but I’m not sure how to fix it." 

"Well, actually, I think a lot of that should come from your end, Kageyama, rather than Hinata's." 

Kageyama snapped up instantly. Hinata looked between the two of them in shock. _Kageyama_ had to fix something? That was beyond anything he could imagine. Kageyama was amazing, a true genius at volleyball. How could _he_ be the one doing something wrong? 

By the look on Kageyama's face, Hinata could tell he was thinking much the same thing. 

"Hinata is a novice, Kageyama, and the fact that he has the basic form down so quickly is very good, and his jumping power, despite the disadvantage of his height, gives him an edge," Iwaizumi explained. "You should try to match your tosses to Hinata’s style instead of having him move to you. You're a talented setter; I'm sure you can do it." 

Kageyama looked down at the volleyball in his hands and swallowed apprehensively. "Okay, I'll try." 

Just then they heard a shout of, "Iwaizumi-senpai!" They all turned to see Kindaichi standing in the doorway. "The Captain says he needs you for something." 

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "What does Trashykawa want now?" he muttered under his breath before turning to Hinata and Kageyama. "I have to go see what he wants, but keep working on it." Iwaizumi started walking over to where Kindaichi was waiting, calling back over his shoulder, "I want to see some improvement!" 

A moment later, they were both gone, and the gym was silent. Hinata and Kageyama exchanged a tense look. 

"Do you think this will work?" Hinata asked. 

"I don't know," Kageyama replied, "but our senpai is usually right about this sort of thing." 

Hinata smiled. "I know you can do it, Kageyama! You're so cool!" 

"Don't say that, dumbass! I haven't even done it yet!" 

~*~ 

To have a toss match the spiker's movements, rather than the spiker to the setter's … It was something that Kageyama had never done before. He was confident in his abilities, always had been, but now, here at Kitagawa Daiichi, everything was different. He had to go beyond his comfort zone. But Kageyama didn't mind; he wanted to learn new skills. Besides, this could help his friend. 

Hinata, his friend. It was strange. Just a few weeks ago, he could never have imagined that the orange-haired idiot would worm his way into his good graces, but now Kageyama had spent so much time with him he had managed to see all the good things about Hinata—which, admittedly, was everything about him aside from his shitty volleyball skills. 

Kageyama was glad to call him his teammate—and his friend. 

And now he would learn this new skill: the ability to keep his attention intently focused on Hinata's every move and the entire court so that he could send up the toss at just the right time, so that Hinata running at his fastest and jumping at his highest could hit the ball so fast no one would see it coming. 

But when they did it for the first time, when they truly succeeded, and Kageyama could hear the ball hit the floor on the other side of the net, he wasn't thinking of his success, he was seeing Hinata's bright smile, and how it lit up his whole face, completely different from the dejected look just a little while ago. He had done it. He had given Hinata back his hope, more than any words ever could. _His_ actions, those of facilitating Hinata's first true spike, had brought back the spark in Hinata's eyes. 

Kageyama staggered back when Hinata barrelled into him, hugging him fiercely, tears streaming from his eyes. 

"What?" Kageyama questioned. "Why are you _crying_?" 

"I am?" Hinata rubbed at his eyes. "I didn't even notice … But I'm just so happy right now, Kageyama! Thank you for not giving up on me!" 

Kageyama had never been more grateful for Hinata's height at that moment, because it meant he couldn't see the smile Kageyama couldn't help but let break free. He buried it in Hinata's hair, mumbling, "Of course not, dumbass. Who else is gonna spike my tosses?" 

Hinata giggled into Kageyama's chest. "I will! I'm your spiker now! For real!" 

_His spiker._ Kageyama liked the sound of that. 

~*~ 

At the Inter Junior High, Kageyama watched, Hinata at his side, as Oikawa received the Best Setter award with a bitter taste in his mouth. They had been summarily ignored by the whole team the entire year, but, rather than feel bitter, Kageyama preferred it that way. It gave him and Hinata time alone to practice, to polish their quick, and make things better. Never again would he let Oikawa and his shitty ways of managing a team make Hinata cry. 

He had caught Hinata in the club room one day _skipping practice—_ which was unheard of for Hinata—and had approached only to find him sobbing uncontrollably. When he asked what was wrong all he got was, "Oikawa-senpai said he wouldn't teach you. Even though I told him about our new quick, he said he didn't care, that we weren't going to be starters and—and that it didn't even matter." 

Hinata's fists clutched at Kageyama's shirt tight enough to pull the fabric, his tears staining the front of his shirt irreparably, but Kageyama couldn't bring himself to care. In the end, it was one last phrase whimpered into the depths of his shirt after the torrent of sobs had calmed to a steady sniffle that changed everything for Kageyama. 

"I just wanted to help." 

Fuck Oikawa. 

He made Hinata cry—he didn't need him, not now, not ever. He would surpass him, _without_ his help. 

“We know it's good, Hinata. Everyone on the team, they're just sheep following Oikawa-senpai, who is leaving in a few months anyway. Then we have our chance. _Then_ we'll show them the true power of our quick.” 

And while that year they put in more hours of practice than they could count, those hours translated into a friendship, and that friendship into the beginning of something neither of them had expected. 

By now, laying side by side on futons at Hinata's house had become a common occurrence. 

"Kageyama … are you still awake?" Hinata whispered into the dark room. 

It was one twenty in the morning. 

"Yeah, what do you want, dumbass?" 

"Do you think things will be different next year?" 

Their week-long break between school years was very nearly over, and soon they would be starting their second year at Kitagawa Daiichi. 

"Well, Oikawa-senpai won't be there," Kageyama replied after a moment. 

"Yeah, but ..." 

"Don't worry, Hinata. It'll be fine. I promise." 

He had a plan. 

~*~ 

"What the hell do you mean I'm not gonna be a starter anymore?" Kunimi heard Kindaichi's shout from across the gym. He looked up from his practice to see Kindaichi, red-faced and trembling with anger, facing the coach. 

"Kageyama-kun is being very adamant that without Hinata-kun he will not play, and as the only setter that would be disastrous for our team. He has personally demonstrated to me his and Hinata-kun's skills, and I agree with his proposal." 

Kunimi could only watch, aghast, as Kindaichi stalked across the gym to where Kageyama was sharing the news with an excited Hinata. 

"You asshole!" Kindaichi shouted. 

Kageyama looked up at him with a cold expression. "What do you want?" 

"You can't just take people's positions away because it's more convenient for you! That's not your choice to make!" 

Kunimi paled, heading over immediately to where the confrontation was taking place. 

"The coach thought this was a better option," Kageyama said as he approached. 

Kindaichi was so lost to his anger he didn't even look up as Kunimi stood beside him, only continued on his tirade, "Only because you pressured him, you dick! Who the hell do you think you are? Some kind of King who can just order around his subjects to do whatever he pleases?" 

Kindaichi looked close to lashing out physically, his fists clenched at his sides so tight he was trembling. 

Kunimi stopped him, even though every part of him also wanted to lash out and punch Kageyama's awful face. Instead, he set a hand on Kindaichi's shoulder and said, calm as he could manage, "He's not worth it." 

And later on, at Kunimi's house, when they were sitting on his bed together, Kunimi rested his hand on the center of Kindaichi's back, right between his shoulder blades, unsure of what else he could do. He could feel Kindaichi's muscles trembling under the palm of his hand. 

Kunimi tried to pretend those weren't tears he could see streaming out of Kindaichi's eyes. Everything that Kindaichi had practiced so long for, worked so hard for, had been taken away, and there was nothing that Kunimi could do. 


	4. Chapter 4

"Okaa-san! Okaa-san!" Hinata exclaimed excitedly when he and Kageyama arrived at his home after practice that day. 

"I'm in the kitchen, Shouyou! What is it?" Hinata's mom called across the house. After hearing her words, they headed to the kitchen where she was cooking dinner for the four of them, Hinata nearly bouncing with excitement. 

"Pardon the intrusion," Kageyama said when they entered the kitchen. Despite Hinata's claims that he was basically family at this point, Kageyama didn't feel right not being polite. 

"I did it, Okaa-san! I'm a starter on the team!" Hinata jumped up and down, unable to contain himself. His mom smiled brightly at this display of over-excitement. 

"I'm so happy for you, Shouyou!" She put down the vegetables she was chopping and swept Hinata up in a big hug. When she released him, she said, "I already started cooking, but you and Kageyama-kun can have whatever you want for dessert to celebrate." 

At this point, it was a normal occurrence for Kageyama to be at Hinata's house nearly everyday. 

_"Kageyama-kun, it's raining pretty badly outside. I'm fine if you stay the night, but you should check with your parents. They might want to pick you up."_

_"Oh it's okay. Okaa-san won't mind."_

_"Are you sure, Kageyama-kun?"_

_"Yeah, she won't be home for a few more days, anyway."_

Kageyama didn't understand why Hinata's mom looked so sad at that, but she let him stay, so it really wasn't important. She cooked amazing food and didn't even mind that Kageyama was over all the time. 

It was nice. Being there in Hinata's house, which was always full of warmth and laughter, that is. 

"Hi, Tobio-nii!" Kageyama heard an excited shout followed by the pounding of socked feet on hardwood. A split second later he felt an impact on his legs like a bullet. He looked down to see Natsu hugging his legs tightly and reached down to ruffle her bright orange hair, amusement finding its way onto his face. 

It was only for a moment, though, because Kageyama was immediately abandoned for the actual older brother in the house. "Onii-chan! Did you do it?" Natsu grabbed onto Hinata just like she had to Kageyama. 

"Yeah, I did!" Hinata knelt down and pulled his new jersey out of his backpack to show a wide-eyed Natsu. Hinata beamed, his smile full of pride, and Kageyama couldn't contain his happiness at the thought that he was the one to put that expression on Hinata's face. 

After dinner and a very filling dessert, Kageyama and Hinata were able to go upstairs to Hinata's room to hang out and attempt to finish their homework like they usually did. But before Kageyama could even attempt to take his books out of his backpack when Hinata spoke, "You made Kindaichi really mad." 

"So?" 

"You did that all for me?" 

"Of course, dumbass! Why wouldn't I—oof!" He was cut off when Hinata hugged him fiercely. 

He was used to Hinata's hugs by now, but Kageyama couldn't lie to himself about how they made his heart beat faster. Being so close to Hinata in general sent his body running hot, a flush rising on his cheeks against his will every time. 

"Thank you, Kageyama!" Hinata smiled. "Now I can play in a real game now, with you!" 

All day, ever since he had broken the news to Hinata, he had seen him smile so brightly. Even the annoying confrontation with Kindaichi hadn't been able to dim his spirits. It was as if Kageyama had just given Hinata the most amazing gift in the world. Though since he was equally as obsessed with volleyball, Kageyama could relate. 

He was … beautiful. His orange hair, bright and fluffy, his eyes shining with happiness, and his smile wide and carefree. 

He couldn't help it. 

Before he even realized it, his lips were pressed against Hinata's. 

For a moment, it was bliss. 

There was warmth, soft and safe—like a caress, a glowing in his chest threatening to burst outwards. He hadn't known it would be like this, hadn't even really known he'd wanted this. 

But then the moment was suddenly broken. He could feel Hinata freeze up next to him, scarily still and unmoving. When Kageyama pulled back, he was met with a blank, wide-eyed stare. He turned away. 

The warmth in Kageyama's chest turned to ice. He had fucked up bad. He had forced a kiss onto Hinata, who probably didn't even like him. He couldn’t bring himself to meet Hinata's eyes—even without looking he could see that blank-eyed stare looking back at him like a reflection. 

"I'm sorry for forcing that on you. We can forget this ever happened." The words were thick on his tongue, but he forced them out. He was so stupid. What good did he think would come from kissing Hinata? 

Silence reigned. With every moment Hinata didn't respond, Kageyama could feel the frost in his chest inching outwards. There was a throb behind his sternum now—how could something he hadn't even known he'd wanted hurt so badly? 

"I'll just … go now." It was obvious he wasn't welcome here anymore. 

Kageyama went to pick up his bag, when he felt Hinata's hand grip his wrist. 

"Kage—Tobio...?" _Tobio?!_ Kageyama thought, startled. First names now? "Why did you do that?" 

"Isn't it obvious?" Kageyama snapped, tugging his wrist out of Hinata's grip sharply. 

"Not to me." 

Kageyama all but growled in frustration. "I like you, dumbass! Why did you make me say it? Wasn't it already obvious?" Kageyama rubbed at his eyes which were _definitely not_ shedding tears. 

"Tobio, I … I like you, too. Please don't cry." 

Kageyama looked down at Hinata in shock. "You … like me, too?" 

"Yeah, Bakageyama! If you had given me a minute to react I would've said so!" 

Hinata brought his hand up to Kageyama's face, gently wiping away the tears. The sudden warmth against his cheek made him flinch, but he held still as Hinata's thumb stroked soothing motions until it warmed. Once the tears were cleared—though Kageyama's face still felt too-sticky and raw—Hinata stood on his tiptoes and tugged Kageyama's head down so that their lips could meet again. This time, there were no misunderstandings.

~*~ 

That night was amazing. It was almost the same as normal: they worked on homework at the dining table, took turns taking a shower, laid out the futons side by side. But it was magical because there was that little something extra. It was their feet brushing underneath the table, the soft giggles that they couldn't contain, the nervous blushes, and the usage of first names that never failed to make Kageyama's heart flutter. 

It was Hinata resting his head on Kageyama's chest that night, cuddling close together, Kageyama's hand stroking gently through his fluffy orange hair. All of this pushed back the worries of what the next day would be like, the next year, the results of what he had done. All he could think about was the good, about how amazing it would feel when they scored their first point together in an official game. 

The next day, the arrived at the club room, only to find their practice gear missing. Kageyama glanced around, but all he saw were his teammates changing around him, eyes averted. Only Hinata was acting differently, looking around confusedly much like Kageyama a second ago. 

Hinata turned to him, eyes imploring. "Tobio? Where'd our things go?" 

"I don't know, dumbass. Did you bring it home by mistake?" Hinata was so absent-minded that was definitely a possibility. 

"No! I left it here! I remember! Did you take it?" 

"No!" Kageyama exclaimed, indignant. As if he would be that careless. 

"Then where is it?" Hinata wondered aloud. "I'm gonna ask the others. Maybe they'll know." 

Kageyama's eyes widened in realization of what happened. "Shouyou, wait!" He reached out to grab his arm to try and stop him, but it was too late. 

"Hey, have any of you guys seen our things?" Hinata called out to the club room at large, and it was as if every member of the team turned to stare. Kageyama resisted the urge to cringe. This wasn't going to end well. 

He tugged on Hinata's arm. "Shouyou, forget about it. We can get new gear," Kageyama whispered. 

"Oh, does the King not have his gear?" Kageyama heard Kindaichi speak up. "Always reliant on his subjects." Kindaichi snickered beside him. 

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but we haven't seen your things," Kunimi chimed in with a nasty smirk. "Then again, you two probably wouldn't notice something right in front of your face, so this isn't surprising." 

"Hey!" Hinata exclaimed defensively. The rest of the team didn't even bother to look at them, keeping their eyes on their own things, much less spring to their defense. 

"Good luck at practice!" Kunimi called over his shoulder as he headed out of the clubroom with Kindaichi, condescending grin wide and mocking. 

"What a dick ..." Kageyama heard Hinata muttered under his breath. Hinata looked up at Kageyama, seemingly ultra aware of the eyes on them. They pretended not to stare, but Kageyama could feel their gazes. "What are we going to do?" Hinata asked worriedly. "We don't have our practice gear." 

"I don't know, dumbass." Kageyama hissed. 

They could just go to practice in their gym uniform, which wouldn't be too big of an issue except for one problem: they needed their knee pads. Otherwise, flying falls and other drills would be hell. 

But they didn't really have a choice. 

Judging by the atmosphere that permeated the room right now, Kageyama knew no one would be receptive to their asking for help. 

"Maybe we can get permission from the captain to be excused from flying falls?" Hinata suggested. 

"Do you really think he's gonna go for that, idiot?" _After what I did?_

"Probably not..." 

They tried anyway, failing to think of anything else. 

"You have to run extra laps around the gym since you forgot your gear," The captain ordered when they appealed to him, unsympathetic. 

"We didn't forget! It was stolen!" Hinata exclaimed. 

"Do you have any proof?" the captain asked. 

They remained silent, knowing that no matter what they said there was no way they'd be able to convince the captain of the truth. Besides, with how the rest of the team looked at them in the club room earlier, Kageyama wouldn't be surprised if he were in on it. Kageyama knew he'd turned the team against them after imposing his will and having Hinata join him in first string. 

But he would do the same again if it would mean making Hinata smile like that. 

After the captain walked away, Kageyama rested his hand on Hinata's shoulder. 

"It's only for today Shouyou. We'll just need to be extra careful with our things from now on." 

But platitudes didn't help their aching knees. Partway through team practice, Kageyama noticed Hinata's pinched expression. "Hey are you okay?" he asked the next chance he had. 

"I'm fine," Hinata replied shortly, but Kageyama knew it wasn't true. 

Kageyama had practiced without his knee pads before, and he always hated it. During flying falls and even serve practice, whenever his knees hit the ground a sharp pain would shoot through them. It felt something like a combination of when a part of his body fell asleep and the heat of when he got hit really hard. 

This was something Kageyama had some experience with, but, more likely than not, this was Hinata's first time. When they headed to the second gym after team practice, Kageyama could see Hinata was unsteady on his feet. 

"Here. Let me see." Kageyama gestured for Hinata to sit next to him on the floor by the wall. When they were both sitting, he grabbed Hinata's knees and began massaging them gently, carefully avoiding the skin that was raw. "Better?" he asked. 

Hinata sighed in relief. He then reached over to repay the favor and massage Kageyama's knees as well. The pain wasn't completely gone, but it took the edge off. 

After practice, they were the last ones to enter the club room. Once almost everybody had left, they changed out of their PE uniform, back into their gakurans. It was as Kageyama looked up to slip the undershirt over his head that he noticed it: A strap of a bag peeked out over the top of his locker. 

Kunimi's words echoed in his mind, _"You two probably wouldn't notice something right in front of your face."_

Kageyama stretched up to grab it, but he couldn't quite reach it. 

"Shouyou, come here." Finished putting his shirt on before walking over. As soon as he was in range, Kageyama picked him up unceremoniously. 

Hinata let out a surprised yelp. "Tobio! What are you doing?" 

"Shut up, dumbass, and grab that bag!" 

Kageyama could tell that Hinata was confused, but he did as he was asked, and, sure enough, the bags were theirs. 

Hinata gasped when he saw it. "How did you know that was there?" Hinata asked, once Kageyama put him down. 

"I saw the strap peeking out," Kageyama explained. He sighed. "At least we got our things back." 

"Yeah, now we don't have to buy new kneepads!" 

"Yeah, as long as we're careful from now on this shouldn't happen again, and we'll be okay." 

They were wrong. 

Each day, as preliminaries for the Inter-Junior High approached, a new misfortune befell them. 

One day, they came into the club room to change only to find a lock that wasn't theirs on their locker, Kageyama could hear Kunimi and Kindaichi's snickers as they struggled with it. Their faces were red with mortification when they had to call the janitor to use his bolt cutters on the lock. 

Another day, they finished a grueling team practice, only to find their water bottles drained. They had to walk to the other side of the gym on trembling legs to fill up their bottles while the rest of the team was already quenching their thirst. 

They learned to keep a constant watch on their things, learned lockers were useless and easily broken into, learned just how much influence the volleyball team had on school affairs. 

Hinata was working on a project for English class, and the girl he'd been randomly assigned as a partner was open and amicable. They got to talking and, by the end of the project, it seemed like they were maybe almost friends. The day after they handed in the project, however, Hinata tried to talk to her after class, in hopes that she could explain to him something the teacher had gone over that he hadn't quite understood, but she ignored him, avoiding his eyes with an uncharacteristic frown. He tried again and again to no avail. 

When Kageyama saw what was happening, he tried to warn Hinata, telling him, "You're only making yourself look like an idiot! It's obvious she doesn't want to be friends anymore!" 

"But why? What did I do? I don't understand! Maybe I can convince her ...?" Hinata trailed off at the end, seemingly thinking hard about how he could rectify the situation. He was always determined to try his hardest and see the best in everyone. There was nothing Kageyama could do to convince him. 

But, one day, at lunch, Hinata approached the girl as she was eating with her friends, and she finally lashed out. 

"Stop trying to talk to me!" she snapped. "You and your creepy friend need to leave me alone!" 

Hinata visibly flinched. "Can you … at least tell me what I did wrong? I thought … We had fun working on the project, I thought you wanted to be friends." 

She scoffed. "Yeah, that's before I found out that you guys are position stealing losers." 

Hinata's eyes widened. "What? I didn't—Why does that even matter?" 

"It matters because I'm on the girl's volleyball team, Hinata-kun! I worked so hard to become a starter. I'm a middle blocker just like you, and you know what? Anyone who would steal someone else's hard earned success and claim it for their own is the worst kind of person." 

Hinata's eyes watered. He was close to tears. 

Kageyama couldn’t stand it anymore. "How dare you say stuff like that to Shouyou!" Kageyama burst in, fury barely contained in clenched fists. "It was my fault! I'm the one who pressured the coach! You want to blame someone? Blame me!" 

"Yeah, sure, I blame both of you. Now can you go _away_ now?" 

Kageyama grabbed Hinata's wrist and gently pulled him away, glaring at the girl as he did so. 

But as they walked away they heard the girls call out to the boy approaching their table. "Oh, Kunimi-kun!" 

"Hi, girls. I heard what you said to them. They really are the worst sort of people, aren't they?" 

One of them snickered. "Yeah, they didn't even deny it!" 

"Guess you were right after all, Kunimi-kun." 

"Like I would ever lie about what happened to my best friend." 

"Oh yeah, no way, but Hinata-kun seemed like, I don't know, so innocent? Who could've known what he was really like?" 

"Exactly. It's really a shame." 

Kageyama pulled Hinata away before they could hear anymore. 

Once they were finally out of earshot, Kageyama apologized. He felt a deep sense of guilt about what he had done curling up in his gut, because now Hinata couldn't even make any friends. 

"I'm sorry. If I hadn't done that, then maybe this wouldn't have happened. I just—I didn't mean for this to happen, I just wanted to make you happy." 

Kageyama had just wanted to be the cause of Hinata's bright smile. 

"You did make me happy, Tobio," Hinata assured him. "I get to play volleyball with you. That's what's important, not what that girl thinks of me. And you're the one that did that for me." 

Hinata looked around to make sure no one was around before going on his tippy toes to kiss Kageyama softly. 

"Thank you, Tobio." 

"For what?" 

"For getting me a spot on the team … I know it probably messed up any chances of the team liking us at all, even now that Oikawa-senpai is gone, but—" Hinata's voice hitched, "—I never would've gotten to play otherwise … I knew it was wrong to be happy about it when I stole Kindaichi's position but … he's so mean to us now—both of them are." 

Kageyama looked at Hinata's crumpled form, the tears drying on his cheeks, the way the light around him just seemed dimmer, and nodded. "They deserved it." 


	5. Chapter 5

"Gather up!" the captain called out after team practice. They all sat down on the floor in front of the captain and the coach, who was holding a paper in his hand.

"Today we received the matchups for the prelims for the Inter Junior High. And well … there's some harrowing news this year," the coach started. "We are facing Shiratorizawa Junior High in the first round."

Gasps echoed throughout the gym.

Hinata heard the disbelieving whispers coming from their teammates.

"The first round?"

"No way."

"That's crazy!"

"We're so screwed."

Hinata remembered last year when Oikawa and their other senpais faced off against Shiratorizawa and the bitter defeat they suffered. It would be a difficult match, Hinata knew. His stomach churned just thinking about facing off against such a strong team so early on.

"Don't lose hope!" the captain exclaimed, snapping the team's attention back to him. "We are a strong team, and Shiratorizawa no longer has Ushiwaka! This is our chance! And by facing them now, we can avoid them in the finals. We will have three sets instead of five, which will be less tiring for our starting players."

Hinata could see that the captain was trying to be optimistic, but the team wasn't buying it. He leaned over and whispered to Kageyama. "Do you think we can beat them?"

"Shouyou … With our quick, they won't even see you coming."

~*~

Kageyama was napping with his head on his desk before class started, tired after the match yesterday, when he was startled awake by Kindaichi hitting him in the head with a rolled up magazine. Kageyama glared at him and Kunimi. "What do you want?" he muttered, blinking the grogginess out of his eyes.

"What do you have to say for yourself, _King?_ " Kindaichi sneered, shoving the magazine in his face.

It was _Volleyball Monthly._

Kindaichi had the magazine open to the pages about the Inter Junior High. Kageyama squinted at it. _In a close game (2-1), Kitagawa Daiichi loses to fan-favorite Shiratorizawa Middle School in the first round_ **,** was the opening sentence of the article.

"They were a strong team," Kageyama answered.

"Yeah, but guess what? We lost because of you! You and that stupid freak quick!" Kindaichi growled.

Kageyama gritted his teeth. He remembered how, that night, he had held a crying Hinata in his arms, who believed it was his fault that they lost … all because Shiratorizawa had read them in the end.

_"I'm sorry, Tobio! It was my fault we lost ..."_

He remembered how apathetic Kunimi had been throughout the game, how it was only in the last few minutes that he put in the full effort … but by then it was too late. Meanwhile, Hinata had jumped so much and so high that by the end of the game his legs were trembling with exhaustion.

_"Tobio … Can I lean on you? I don't think I can walk by myself right now."_

"We wouldn't have gotten as far as we did against them without Shouyou, so just for once in your life, shut the hell up," Kageyama snapped at Kindaichi, before resting his head on the desk once more and proceeding to ignore everything. He didn't care what either of them had to say, especially Kindaichi, who hadn't even been in the game.

Later on, after suffering through class, he and Hinata ate lunch together.

"You know the coach is picking the new captain today," Hinata remarked around bites of his bento.

"Yeah, so?"

"It seems weird … We had to deal with Oikawa-senpai for so long, and now we have a new captain so quickly."

"Yeah, well, we lost. That's what happens when you lose. The volleyball season is over for us. The third years are retiring."

"Who do you think will be captain?" Hinata mused.

"I don't know and it doesn't really matter. It isn't like it's gonna change anything. They'll still hate us no matter who's in charge."

"True, but hey—you never know. Maybe things will be different this time," Hinata said.

Kageyama snorted. "I doubt it."

~*~

Kunimi could not believe his ears. He could see Kindaichi visibly trembling in rage next to him and, this time, he didn't stop his outburst.

"No way! The _King_ can't be captain! Are you out of your mind?" Kindaichi raged, his face turning red in pent up anger. Kunimi silently agreed.

All around them the other soon-to-be third years muttered dissatisfiedly amongst themselves.

"I would also like to hear your reasoning on this, Coach," Kunimi said.

The coach sighed. "Listen, I usually choose Captain based on the second years' starter's season performance. We barely had a season, but in the one game we played, I felt that Kageyama-kun was the one who truly showed the most potential. He was able to draw out the strength of all the players, and used each of them to their fullest—especially Hinata-kun."

"This is ridiculous," Kunimi heard Kindaichi mutter under his breath. "What a fucking pushover."

"He has the most experience and is easily the strongest player in this room," the coach continued. "I know there is some ridiculous animosity going on here, but he's your captain now. That is my decision and you all have to come to terms with it."

No one on the team had been prepared for this decision, not even Kageyama himself, it seemed.

The first few days he floundered. He had no idea how to assign drills or lead practice, and Hinata as vice captain was no help as he was even _less_ experienced. It didn't help that the remaining soon-to-be third years were completely against him, leaving the kouhais torn over who to actually listen to.

And Kunimi had no problem perpetuating that divide. Kageyama didn't deserve his captaincy, just like how Hinata didn't deserve his starting position. Even though now, with the third years gone, Kindaichi had gotten his long earned spot on the starting line up, Kunimi was still bitter. This had gone beyond that.

It was for all the times he had been snapped at.

_"Run faster! Jump higher!"_

It was for all the times he had been accused of not caring.

_"When are you going to get serious?"_

_"Don't give up on the ball!"_

It was for every time he was forced to try and spike that stupidly reckless toss of his, and then getting it rubbed in his face when that shrimp with practically no volleyball experience could do something he couldn't.

Because that's what Kageyama always did.

Everytime someone complained, he would get Hinata to spike and show them all that what he was asking was _totally_ possible, and that they were being completely and annoyingly unreasonable.

After all, if _Hinata—_ who sucked at absolutely everything involving volleyball—could do it … Why couldn't they?

Their whole style of play changed, molded to be structured around Hinata and Kageyama, like they were the only ones who mattered. It made him sick.

What pissed him off the most, however, was that it seemed to be working. They entered the prelims and beat their first and second opponents by wide margins, and they were already starting to draw attention—they were a notorious team, after all. They had gone from number two in the prefecture, to dead last in one year, and this was their comeback.

But that was exactly it … Was it really their comeback? No. This wasn't a team victory. This was a victory for Hinata and Kageyama, and they got it by having their support.

So what if they took it away?

~*~

**Art by bokvto**

"Kita-iichi! Kita-iichi!"

That was the first thing Hinata and Kageyama heard when they exited the locker room together and entered the gym: the sounds of their team, the ones not even on the bench, cheering for their victory. On the other side of the gym, they could see the purple banner of Shiratorizawa Middle School and hear their deafening shouts of, "Shiratorizawa! Shiratorizawa!"

It was the final game of the Inter Junior High, and the whole gym was buzzing with excitement.

Kageyama and Hinata spotted Kunimi leading the warm up with their team and headed over to them. Kindaichi snickered as they approached.

"So the King finally arrives."

"A little late to your big finale, don't you think?" Kunimi quipped.

Kageyama glowered. "I needed to speak to my vice captain."

"Sure you did," he sneered.

Kageyama sighed and picked up a volleyball to start spiking warm ups. The first spiker was, of course, Hinata.

After warm ups, while they were being introduced, Kageyama saw Hinata trembling with nerves. He reached over and placed his hand reassuringly on Hinata's shoulder. "It's okay," he whispered to him. "We can do this."

Kunimi had first serve, and with that, the game began.

Shiratorizawa had seen their quick before, but it moved too fast, even for them. If he and Hinata timed it right, they could strike it past them.

When they scored for the first time, Kageyama saw Hinata's bright smile, blinding and effervescent, and reassured himself:

They could win.

It was possible.

This time, they would achieve their dream.

But, at the end of the second set, with Shiratorizawa at set point, things didn't seem so crystal clear. Sure, they had won the first set, but they couldn't let Shiratorizawa gain any ground.

It was his serve, and he knew he had to make it count.

Kageyama would take this risk.

He would do a jump serve for the first time in an official game.

Kageyama had practiced this for so long. He'd longed for Oikawa to teach him, but once that dream had been crushed, he'd become determined to learn by himself. And learn it he had. He was confident in himself. He could do this.

When he threw the ball up in the air, he could hear the collective gasps from his teammates. He had never jump served in front of them, after all. Even Hinata seemed surprised at his bold move.

He ran and jumped, smacking the ball to the other side of the net. It veered to the right, close to the line—no, it was _too_ close. Kageyama could only watch in horror as the ball slammed to the ground, right next to the white line.

The whistle sounded.

It was _out_.

Shiratorizawa had won the second set, and it was all his fault.

_"Did you really think you would be able to do my serve, Tobio-chan?"_ he heard Oikawa's voice mock in his head.

Kageyama cursed under his breath, and as they changed sides of the court, Hinata tapped him on the back.

"Don't mind, Tobio. We'll get them this set."

That was all Kageyama needed to hear. It drowned out the mutters from his other teammates about how reckless he was, about how he clearly only cared about what was best for him. None of that mattered.

Hinata was right. He couldn't let this drag him down, and when his chance to serve came around in the third set, he tried again.

This time the ball went barreling straight to Shiratorizawa's libero, who received it with considerable effort, and managed to get it to their setter, but Kindaichi and him were already there, jumping up, and successfully blocking the ball. Kageyama looked over at Hinata, who gave him a bright smile and a thumbs up.

"Nice kill!"

It continued to be an extremely close match, both teams gaining points at a rapid pace, neither allowing the other get more than one point ahead.

But, once again, they lost the set by the skin of their teeth, they were _so close!_ Kageyama stared at the spot on the court where the ball had landed in despair.

It wasn't his fault this time. No, it had been a second year spiker, whose name Kageyama couldn't even remember. He had fumbled a receive and that was the end of it. Kageyama had looked up and headed back towards the bench to drink some water, when he saw it out of the corner of his eye: Kunimi's smirk.

He stalked over to him and glared fiercely.

"What are you doing smirking? We just lost a set! When are you going to get serious?" Kageyama snapped at him.

He was so wound up, he couldn't help it. They had lost two sets over stupid mistakes. This was their last chance.

"I am serious," Kunimi assured him, looking affronted that Kageyama had even asked, though the arch of his brow said he knew exactly what he was doing. "After all, I'm not the one who pulled out an untested jump serve at set point _and_ screwed it up."

"Guys! Stop, okay? The break is almost over, and I know you need water," Hinata said, trying to stop the argument before it escalated and more people took notice. He handed Kageyama his bottle, and he took a large sip, glaring at Kunimi all the while.

Kunimi stalked off to where Kindaichi was waiting for him on the other side of the bench.

They were whispering together. It made Kageyama's gut tighten with unease.

"Shouyou."

"What is it, Tobio?"

"This is our last chance."

Hinata nodded. "I know."

"Do you really think we can do it?"

"Of course. With me you're invincible, remember?"

Kageyama had to smile at that, a soft, quiet smile, one that no one but Hinata could see. If Hinata believed in them, nothing else mattered.

Then the whistle blew, signaling to Kageyama and Hinata to get into position along with the rest of their team. Constantly trailing behind, or tying with Shiratorizawa, they fought brutally for each and every point, and finally, midway through the set, they got ahead.

It was with confidence that Kageyama made a toss, confidence that they would get the point, confidence that they would win, confidence that they would go to nationals and make names for themselves—he and Hinata on top of the world.

But when he tossed, no one was there.

Hinata, stuck in the warm up box, could only watch in horror as the ball hit the ground with a hollow smack. Once, twice it bounced, before rolling off into the sidelines, dejected.

There was something hollow in his chest when Kageyama looked over at the rest of his team. The person who was supposed to spike was Kunimi, but he was just standing there with the rest of them, confident smirk firmly in place.

The coach called for a timeout, and they all filed over to the bench.

The second they were off the court, Kageyama confronted Kunimi. "What the hell are you doing?" Kageyama shouted, grabbing at the front of Kunimi's shirt and yanking harshly. "This is our last chance!"

Kunimi looked at them with a strained expression, that smirk of his somewhat off. Then, he started to laugh.

Kageyama and Hinata both looked at Kunimi aghast.

"Don't you see?" Kunimi sneered, pulling at the hand Kageyama had twisted in his uniform until he had no choice but to release him. He fell back a step, staring in mute horror as Kunimi continued, "Look around. No one _cares_ anymore. You sucked out all the life in volleyball for us. We're fed up with you."

Hinata's voice snapped Kageyama out of it. "What? But this is the _finals—_ this is our chance for nationals!" he exclaimed.

Kunimi turned to Hinata. "Even if we win this—and that's a big if—nationals will be even worse with you bullying us all the time. I'm done and I'm taking you down with me." Hinata flinched back at his words.

It was then that the coach intervened. "Kunimi! What is this?" he questioned, putting himself in between the boys. "I'm going to have to sub you out. You just sabotaged the game!"

Kunimi shrugged. "Whatever, pushover."

"He's right, Coach!" Kindaichi added. "All Kageyama and Hinata have ever done is make this team worse! We can't deal with it anymore! If anything _they_ should be the ones subbed out!"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah, they should!"

The rest of their teammates chimed in, in support.

The coach sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Look, this is not the time or the place to be dealing with this! This is the finals! We have less than a minute before this timeout is over, and I need to do something about this! Kunimi, Kindaichi, the two of you are clearly the ones leading this little … _rebellion_ , so you two are being subbed out. Anyone else want to sabotage the game and you're next." The coach called over two first years, one wing spiker to replace Kunimi, and one middle blocker to replace Kindaichi. "You two are in. Don't screw this up like your senpais did."

They were visibly trembling. "Yes, sir!"

The whistle blew and it was time to reassemble on the court, Kageyama took a deep breath. Despite how difficult Kunimi and Kindaichi could be, Kageyama knew they were good players and that the team was at a definite disadvantage now, at such a crucial moment.

"We can do it," he muttered under his breath, trying to encourage himself. But he knew there really wasn't much hope.

And Shiratorizawa crushed them.


	6. Chapter 6

On the bus home, Hinata couldn't even look at the other members of his team. Kageyama kept him carefully tucked into his side and glared at anyone who even dared to look at them, much less speak up. They were left alone, unbothered in their seat in the back of the bus, and Kageyama pretended not to notice Hinata's tears wetting his shirt as the bumps on the road jostled them back and forth. 

Kageyama knew Hinata blamed himself. He'd been in the warm up box when Kageyama had tossed to an empty spot, having to switch out for their libero, since his receives were still not up to par. He knew that Kunimi had timed that specifically for that moment, so that Hinata would be unable to do anything, and that fact just fanned the flames of rage inside of him even more. 

But there was nothing that Kageyama could do about that, so he just stroked Hinata's back comfortingly, all the while holding a poker face. 

He couldn't cry. 

Not yet. 

He still had to save face. He was the captain after all, even if his so-called teammates couldn't give less of a shit. 

Even if once they arrived back at the gym, he would have to give up his jersey and his title. The only thing keeping him somewhat calm was the fact that Kunimi and the other third years would have to as well, but even that couldn't quell the pit of rage inside him completely. Kunimi had taken their dreams and stomped on them, crushing them into little pieces, and for what? _Petty revenge?_ How cruel. 

Kunimi could say anything he wanted about bullying, but they weren't the ones who were tormented for an entire school year, they weren't the ones who had to fight from day one for even a scrap of recognition. They deserved every bit of what they had been dishing out— _that_ was revenge, not throwing the final game in the Inter Junior High! Not throwing away their chance for Nationals! 

Not making Hinata cry. 

Later that night, when they arrived back at the school and Kageyama and Hinata had handed in their jerseys, Kageyama was going to leave when Hinata finally looked up from the ground and spoke. 

"This is not a real team. It never was for you underclassmen. That's mostly the third years fault. Make things better when we're all gone." Then he turned toward Kunimi and Kindaichi, eyes burning. "And as for you guys, we will defeat you in the InterHigh and go to Nationals, so _be ready._ " 

He grabbed Kageyama by the wrist, and they walked out of the gym for the last time. 

~*~ 

Karasuno High School Boy's Volleyball Club. The fallen champions, flightless crows. That was what they'd heard. But it was their choice—and practically the only choice they had. Shiratorizawa would never accept them, not after what happened, and especially not with their grades. Oikawa was at Aoba Jousai, and they had heard through the grapevine that was where the majority of the team would be heading off to. Kageyama and Hinata had long since agreed that being on the same team and Kunimi and Kindaichi for another three years would be a nightmare. 

That, of course, left many other options, but Kageyama would not hear the end of it from Hinata. After all, the Small Giant was the reason Hinata had started playing volleyball in the first place, and to go to Karasuno, the place where it all began, was his dream. After everything that had happened, Kageyama had to relent. Karasuno was where they would be. 

They took the entrance exam a few weeks after the Inter Junior High, studying like mad men, and praying they would both make it in. With their grades, it was definitely hit or miss. They had applied to a few other schools, as well, just to be safe, but Karasuno was their true goal, and after reading up more about it, even Kageyama was enthused. They had the legendary Coach Ukai, and the star libero, Nishinoya Yuu, was on their volleyball team. 

They had watched a video of their match against Datekou High School in the InterHigh, and Nishinoya's skills were impressive, the rest of the team, passable. The Iron Wall of Datekou could be overcome with their quick. They knew they could make it work. 

Which is why the fact that, after less than a week into the new school year, they had to resort to practicing in secret was extremely frustrating. 

"Tobio!" Hinata exclaimed happily as he approached. It had been three days since they had joined the Karasuno volleyball club, and since day one he and Hinata had not been allowed to practice together. Instead, Kageyama was stuck with the captain and the most annoyingly smug first year he had ever met, practicing for a match in which he would have to go against Hinata for the very first time. Kageyama didn't like it; it made him sick with dread. 

Hinata waved the keys to the gym in his hand. "I convinced Sugawara-senpai to let me lock up!" he said with a beaming smile. "We can practice together!" Hinata hugged him fiercely. "I missed you, Tobio ..." 

"Dumbass, you saw me just a few hours ago." 

"Yes, but you haven't tossed to me for days," Hinata whined. Kageyama leaned down and kissed him. 

"Well, we're gonna fix that, so let's go." 

"Yes! Toss, Tobio! Toss!" Hinata cheered, practically skipping ahead into the gym. 

"Wait one second!" Kageyama put his bag down, took his jacket off and grabbed a volleyball before running off to join Hinata on the court. 

This is where he belonged: on the court with Hinata, tossing to him, seeing his smiles, and hearing his laughter, not apart from him. 

~*~ 

Suga didn't know what to make of the new first years. He and Daichi had watched Kageyama and Hinata in the finals of the Inter Junior High, and they both seemed like very good players, but their teamwork with anyone but each other was appalling. 

During their first practice, Daichi had been running a drill to check the first years' spiking skills, when Hinata had outright refused to spike for Sugawara's toss. Apparently, only Kageyama's would do, and Kageyama, in an effort to explain, got into an all-out argument with Tsukishima. 

Daichi's solution for this was apparently to stick them on the same team for the traditional first year three on three match. Thankfully, Daichi was watching over those two while Sugawara himself had Hinata and Yamaguchi. 

Though Hinata was also a handful. 

_"I don't wanna spike your toss. I want Tobio's."_

_"Why can't I practice with Tobio?"_

Later on, once Sugawara and Yamaguchi had finally convinced him to try spiking his toss, he found out that Hinata apparently _needed_ Kageyama to spike at all. 

Failure after failure made Suga realize why Hinata was so adamant to practice with Kageyama: he depended on him to succeed. 

_"Daichi, I don't know what to do,"_ Suga confided in him after practice. " _Hinata has no idea how to spike a normal toss! But we know he can do it! You saw him during that match! He was … incredible."_

_"He has to learn how to be his own player, Suga. He's not going to be with Kageyama all the time. You are Karasuno's main setter, after all, not him."_

Daichi was right, but Suga had no idea how to go about it. He pondered upon this conundrum on his way home from practice. He had helped to sharpen up some of the other skills Hinata needed to improve on, like receiving, but anything that could improve his spiking was a complete blank in his mind. He had no ideas; he had already tried every trick in the book. 

Suga was so lost in his thoughts on the matter that it wasn't until he was nearly halfway home when he realized he had forgotten his water bottle. He quickly headed back to the gym, grateful, not for the first time, that he lived relatively close to the school. 

"Tobio! One more! One more!" he heard an excited shout coming from the gym. He should've known. Of course Hinata and Kageyama would try to practice together in secret. These two were the epitome of the phrase "ball is life." They didn't know how to rest. 

He peeked through the window and saw Hinata's wide smile, a rare sight, since all the times Suga had seen him he had been moping about not being able to practice with Kageyama. 

"Shouyou, we have to practice your broad attack, remember?" Kageyama said. 

"But why?" Hinata whined. 

"Because, then you can spike more than just my quick." 

"I don't want to spike other people's tosses! Just yours!" 

"Yeah, but what about _my_ broad attack? If you can spike that, then we can do both! Our opponents wouldn't know what was coming!" 

"Really?" Hinata asked him, eyes shining. 

"Yeah, of course, dumbass!" 

"Okay! Okay!" Hinata exclaimed excitedly. 

He had never seen Hinata this excited for a toss before. Then again, isn't that what he had been saying constantly these past few days? 

_"Let me spike with Tobio!"_

If Kageyama could teach him the broad attack … He wouldn't mention this liaison to Daichi. After all, practicing together at this point was forbidden. 

Suga was mesmerized with Kageyama's tosses. He was better than he could have imagined, especially when he was seeing them up close like this. 

When, after four or five tries, Hinata finally managed to spike, he launched himself at Kageyama, tugged him down and … _kissed him?_

That was something he hadn't been expecting, though in hindsight it seemed obvious. 

He turned away from the window. This was a private moment, and he had no right to intrude. He would get his water bottle tomorrow. 

He headed home, unsure what to do with these new revelations. 

~*~ 

The next day at practice, Suga got the keys back from Hinata, not mentioning anything about the night before. He'd thought about what he was going to do for awhile, but it wasn't like he could bring it up to Daichi for advice, due to what he had inadvertently seen. He knew now, though, that Hinata was capable of broad attacks, though, even with Kageyama, Hinata still faltered. 

"Hinata, do you think you can try spiking again?" Suga asked. The match was in two days, and the other team had the clear advantage. Even if Suga couldn't reveal what he'd seen, he could use the fact that Hinata could do broad attacks to his advantage. 

"What? No! You know I can't, Sugawara-senpai," Hinata protested. 

"Hinata, you'll never improve without practice, and you need to be able to spike my tosses." 

"Come on, Hinata," Yamaguchi chimed in. "Maybe today will be better?" 

Hinata pouted but eventually relented. Yamaguchi threw the ball and Suga tossed it as Hinata rushed up to spike. 

This went on a few times until, _smack!_ Hinata finally hit the ball. Suga watched as Hinata stared at his hand in shock and then ran off with a lame excuse. "I'm sorry—I need to—um, use the bathroom!" 

It was strange. "I thought he'd be happy to finally hit the ball." Suga knew that Hinta believed that he couldn't spike without Kageyama, so he thought finally being able to do it would change things. 

"Um, Sugawara-senpai," Yamaguchi spoke up. "Do you think that maybe Hinata hasn't actually been tossed to by anyone other than Kageyama before?" 

Suga looked at Yamaguchi in shock. He had never actually considered that, mostly because it made no sense. Kageyama was a first year; there had to have been a setter on the Kitagawa Daiichi team before him, and surely that setter would've tossed to Hinata. He vaguely remembered their previous setter, as he was supposedly very good, but he was drawing a blank on his name. 

If Yamaguchi was right—and it was looking more and more likely that that was the case—then Suga had to wonder … Just what kind of team had Kitagawa Daiichi been? 

If the previous setter had left Hinata unable to spike like this, it was no wonder why Hinata was so dependent on Kageyama—relationship aside. Hinata had been on the Kitagawa Daiichi team for three years; there was no reason why he couldn't learn, but clearly Hinata's senpais had failed him, and Kageyama had tried the best he could. 

Everything started to click into place: what he had seen at the finals of the Inter Junior High, and how Hinata and Kageyama were acting now. It was all starting to make sense. 

He remembered seeing Hinata compulsively check his things while Kageyama waited at the door of the club room for him. 

_"Why'd you leave your bag behind, dumbass? You should've learned by now!"_ Kageyama admonished him. 

_"Oh, thank god,"_ Hinata sighed in relief. _"Everything's here."_

At the time, Suga had been confused and slightly offended at the insinuation that they would steal from them, but what if that had happened to them before? 

No, that was silly. Why would anyone steal from their teammates? 

But the thought wouldn't leave him. 

Because during the finals of the Inter Junior High, he couldn't hear much, but he could see their numbers four and five being pulled from the game after number five had failed to spike a toss—and, in retrospect, it had seemed _deliberate._

He couldn't imagine how that must have felt. 

Tossing and no one being there? 

Being let down in one of the tensest games he would have ever played? 

Suga knew he would've been devastated. 

That begged the question: Did Kageyama and Hinata even know what a real team was? 


	7. Chapter 7

Hinata walked into the gym that Saturday with Yamaguchi and Sugawara feeling woefully unprepared. He didn't want to have to face Kageyama. They were a team, a pair, setter and spiker. They weren't supposed to play apart from each other. 

When Hinata had hit that toss from Sugawara he had felt overwhelmed with guilt. He was _Kageyama's_ spiker, no one else's. Sure, being able to hit broad attacks was a good thing, but not like this. However, he had never expected that Kageyama wouldn't feel the same way. 

During the whole match, Hinata watched him, and he was playing with his teammates, the captain, and even Tsukishima, who he claimed to have hated! He was sending tosses to them like it was nothing, like not having Hinata there didn't even matter. Just what had they been doing all these years? Did it even matter? 

No, Kageyama wasn't going to be the only one allowed to play volleyball with others. He would spike one of Sugawara's tosses and show him just how it felt! He ran and jumped for the toss, hearing the others shocked gasps around him seeing just how high he could jump, he smacked it with all his might and it was … blocked. 

Hinata landed on the ground and turned away from everyone, defeated. Even when he could get everything right and actually hit the ball, he still failed! Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. 

"Oh, wow. The shrimp really can't do anything without the king," Tsukishima mocked him. His mind tried to process what was happening. Had Kageyama been lying to him this whole time? 

_Do I really not matter at all?_ Hinata wondered as the match wound down, Kageyama's team leagues ahead of Hinata's. The captain scored the last point, and Hinata almost immediately ran to the other side of the net, trembling in rage. 

"What the hell, Tobio!" Hinata shouted angrily, gripping the front of Kageyama's shirt. 

"Shouyou?" Kageyama questioned. 

"You said _I_ was your spiker!" Hinata's voice hitched. "You said that you couldn't toss to anyone but me! That our toss was special!" 

"It is, dumbass! The quick is ours! I could never do that with them!" Kageyama insisted, face screwed up tight. 

"But I'm not there! And you said that without me it isn't the same! But it was! You just played like me being there didn't even matter!" Hinata choked on a sob. "How could you, Tobio? I thought it was me and you, partners? A team?" 

"Yeah, well, don’t just point fingers at me, dumbass! You're the one who spiked a toss from Sugawara-senpai!" 

"Yeah, because I had to do something!" 

"How is that not the same thing?" 

Hinata shoved Kageyama away from him. "You just don't get it, Tobio! You don't need me … but I need you." Hinata ran out of the room. He couldn't take it anymore. This feeling of despair and betrayal was crushing him. He felt lost. It really was true. Kageyama didn't need him anymore. 

~*~ 

Suga watched as Hinata ran out of the room, Kageyama staring at him in shock. 

"Shouyou, wait!" Kageyama shouted, distraught. The rest of the team was just staring in shock, not expecting something like this to happen. 

Even Suga was quite surprised. This was different than what he had seen of their normal antics, the constant insults that were flung between them, like 'dumbass' or 'idiot', which was unconventional, especially considering their relationship. It was almost like they were pet names. 

This was different. This was a fight, and Kageyama seemed lost. 

Suga went over to the other side of the net where Kageyama was. 

"You should go after him," Suga suggested. "He may seem mad, but I think he's really just hurt. Talk it out with him. It should be okay." 

Kageyama nodded stiffly and went racing out the door to chase after his boyfriend. 

Hinata had been sad, moping about all week during their practices without Kageyama, and Suga knew that he was dependent upon Kageyama for tosses. He supposed, judging by what he had heard, Hinata had had the impression that it was the same way for Kageyama. Seeing that was not the case must have really shocked him. 

Then again, Hinata was emotional and behaving very rashly. Suga had noticed during the game that, despite Kageyama's clearly superior talents and abilities, it seemed like his heart wasn't really in the game. The passion and fire he'd seen during the Inter High match and during his practice with Hinata was missing. He was here because he had to be, not because he wanted to be. He remembered what he'd seen a few nights ago in the gym, when they believed they were alone, practicing together. Suga remembered how despite it not even being an actual game Hinata was happier than Suga had ever seen him, and Kageyama had actually smiled. 

Suga sighed. "It's worse than I thought," he muttered under his breath. He had never expected the dependence that Hinata and Kageyama had on each other to turn out like this. 

"What do you mean, Suga?" Daichi asked. Suga jumped, startled. He hadn't noticed Daichi come up next to him. 

"What are you talking about?" Suga asked, trying to deflect the conversation. He wouldn't out them! 

"You know something." 

"Yeah—I—well—Can we talk in private?" Suga asked. 

"What's so important?" Daichi asked once he'd pulled Suga aside from where the rest of the team was. 

"Look, I don't want you to get mad, but the other day, I let Hinata lock up, and when I came back because I forgot my water bottle, I caught them practicing." 

"You what!" 

"Daichi, please. Listen, okay? What I saw then, combined with what I've been seeing from Hinata and Kageyama the past few days … I think that they really didn't have much of a team at Kitagawa Daiichi at all." 

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean," Sugawara explained, determined to get Daichi to understand, "that the reason that they're so dependant on each other is that they've never had other teammates to rely on." 

"But they had a team! We watched them play in the finals." 

"Yeah, and you saw how well that went." 

Daichi sighed. "Okay, maybe you're right. But what do you want me to do about it? They have a team now." 

"They need to learn how to trust—" 

They were interrupted by a bang. They both looked up, startled, only to see Takeda-sensei running into the room. 

"I got us a match! A practice match with Aoba Jousai!" 

It was time to put the teamwork to the test. 

~*~ 

Kageyama had been searching for Hinata for a little while now and decided to return to the gym to see if Hinata had returned. He was worried; it wasn't like Hinata to act like that, and sure, the both of them had been under stress this week, but Kageyama thought they had it all under control. 

He was clearly wrong. 

He hadn't ever meant to make Hinata feel like he didn't need him! Of course he needed him! Playing volleyball without Hinata just wasn't the same. All the life was sucked out of the sport, especially when he had to deal with Tsukishima. All week he'd had to hear thinly veiled insults behind his back, and, sometimes, directly to his face. He'd never been more relieved than when the match was finally over. 

And then this happened. How could Hinata think Kageyama could play without him? What had happened today? During that match? That hadn't been playing volleyball, that was going through the motions. All he'd done was set up the same broad attack over and over. It was only because Tsukishima and the captain were powerful spikers and fast that they were able to get past Sugawara and Yamaguchi blocking. He hadn't even bothered to do the jump serve—that farce of a game hadn't been worth the effort. 

He didn't care that the captain was probably angry at him, or about the snide comments that Tsukishima made. What mattered now was finding Hinata and proving he still needed him. 

He peeked into the gym to see if Hinata was there, and caught the eye of Ennoshita, who quickly came over to him. 

"Did you find Hinata?" he asked. 

"No. What's going on?" Kageyama asked. The team was huddled into a group around Takeda-sensei, seemingly deep in conversation. 

"Takeda-sensei managed to get Aoba Jousai to agree to a practice match." Kageyama froze. _Aoba Jousai? Isn't that where Oikawa went?_

"They said, though, that you and Hinata had to play." 

Kageyama frowned. He knew they just wanted to defeat them and rub it in their faces. 

They wanted to make things worse for them, they wanted to ruin any chance they had with their new team. 

"Do you know why?" 

"A lot of people from Kitaiichi went to Aoba Jousai. They don't like us very much," Kageyama stated bluntly. "Now, I need to find Hinata." He needed to tell Hinata they would be facing Oikawa again. 

But before he could leave, he was stopped by the captain and Sugawara. "Hey, let us help you look. We're worried about him, too, and three people looking is better than one," Sugawara suggested. Kageyama nodded stiffly. He didn't like it, but he needed to find Hinata. They all split up and Kageyama sighed. 

He needed Hinata. Kageyama was a mess without him right now. They hadn't had a fight this big in a while. He hoped that he would find him before the captain or Sugawara. He wanted to kiss him, wanted to show Hinata how much he needed him, and he couldn’t do that with the third years around. 

Kageyama was determined. He would make sure Hinata knew just how much he loved him. 

~*~ 

Daichi had been walking around for a good while now and hadn't seen Hinata anywhere. He decided to pop into the clubroom to grab his cellphone so he could call Suga and see if he'd made any more headway than Daichi had. 

When he walked inside, though, there Hinata was, sitting in the corner, lightly sniffling, his face red and puffy. He was crouched down with his arms wrapped around his legs and his head resting on his knees, gaze directed blankly at the floor. 

"Hinata?" 

Hinata's head shot up. "Captain!" He wiped hurriedly at his face, as though that would do something to make it any less obvious he'd just been crying for a long time. 

"What are you doing here?" Daichi asked. "Everyone's been worried!" 

Hinata shook his head. "Yeah, right." Daichi sat down next to Hinata. 

"It's true. Kageyama's been searching for you." 

"Yeah, probably because he feels guilty," Hinata replied glumly, resting his chin on his knees again and staring forward at nothing. 

"Come on, Hinata, you know Kageyama better than that. He seems like he really cares about you." That only seemed to make Hinata angry. 

"Tobio has always said that he needs me! But he doesn't! He lied to me!" he snapped, venom lacing his voice. 

"That's not true, Hinata. I've been the one practicing with Kageyama this past week, and if the stories I heard from Suga are true, you weren't exactly cooperative, but Kageyama was definitely twice as bad." 

Hinata perked up a little. "Really?" 

Daichi chuckled. "Yeah, oh man, him and Tsukishima, it was everything I could do to get them to not fight, and for, like, the first day he absolutely refused to toss to Tsukishima at all." 

Hinata giggled a little. "That sounds like Tobio. Plus, Tsukishima was mean to us!" 

"They both insulted each other so much," Daichi continued. "But Kageyama was always grumbling about how you were better than us. He was brooding all the time." 

"Was he all like, ' _I only toss to those essential to winning_?'" Hinata imitated Kageyama. 

"Yes, exactly that," Daichi agreed, smiling at Hinata's more relaxed form. 

Then Daichi saw Suga peek into the clubroom. "Hey, I heard some laughing," he greeted them. "I'm glad Daichi finally found you, Hinata." 

Hinata looked over at Suga confusedly. "Why do you guys even care, anyway?" he asked. 

Daichi was taken aback. Of course they cared! Hinata and Kageyama were their teammates, their kouhais. He remembered what Suga told him, though, how Hinata and Kageyama were likely treated by their middle school team. 

"We're a team, Hinata," Daichi explained. "We're supposed to look out for each other. When you ran away crying, of course the rest of us are going to be worried. Teammates are supposed to _support_ each other. Like I've said before, the team with the better six are the better team, but that's both on and off the court, and if we support each other, we will be the better team." 

Hinata looked at him, blinking confusedly. _Did I lose him?_ Daichi wondered. 

Suga chuckled at Hinata's expression. "Listen, what Daichi means is: we're here for you both, and we'll support you no matter what." 

This time, the words seemed to sink in. Hinata nodded. "Okay." 

"We're gonna need you, Hinata. We just got a practice match with Aoba Jousai, and according to Kageyama, their team has a lot of people you used to play with." 

Hinata's eyes widened. "Already? We have to play them already?" he questioned under his breath. Hinata had grown pale, horror written across his face. 

"Yes, and we're counting on you," Suga reiterated. "We'll support you, and you'll support us, okay?" 

"Okay, Sugawara-senpai," Hinata said, determined. 

"Do you think you're up to going back to the gym now?" Suga asked. 

Hinata nodded again, and they headed back to the gym together. 

When they entered, Hinata looking downcast, Kageyama ran up to him. "Shouyou!" 

"Tobio, I—" 

"Shouyou, you know I need you, right?" Kageyama interrupted him. "We have to defeat Oikawa together." 

Hinata hugged him fiercely. "I know. I need you too." 

It was heartwarming how much Kageyama cared about his friend. 

Though, then again, judging by the way he was looking at Hinata, maybe they were … more? 

~*~ 

Hinata walked home with Kageyama after practice that night, hands linked, until they stopped when they got to the street where they had to part. 

Hinata looked up at Kageyama, not really wanting to let go of his hand. Kageyama looked down at him with a soft expression Hinata knew was reserved only for him. 

After looking around to make sure the street was deserted, he tugged Kageyama down and kissed him. 

"I love you," Hinata declared when he finally pulled away. Kageyama's cheeks were red, and he looked away, flustered. 

"I-I love you too," Kageyama replied haltingly. Hinata knew that it was still hard for him to say the words, and he appreciated the effort. 

Hinata wrapped his arms around Kageyama and rested his head on his chest. "We're gonna defeat Oikawa-senpai tomorrow, right Tobio?" 

"Yeah, duh, dumbass. Kunimi and Kindaichi, and all those other assholes. They're not gonna know what hit them!" Kageyama whispered into Hinata's hair, his words quiet but filled with fiery convinction. 

Hinata smirked. "Good." 


	8. Chapter 8

They were on the bus the next day, and Kageyama could feel Hinata trembling with nerves next to him, a far cry from how confident he had been the night before. He couldn't blame him; Kageyama wasn't exactly calm himself, his right leg bouncing anxiously despite how he was slowly carding his fingers through Hinata's hair to try and calm them both. Hinata was short enough that no one could see over the seats what he was doing, and there was no one sitting across from them. 

They hadn't expected to be confronted with the reality of facing Oikawa so soon. They hadn't seen him in years, but Kageyama could bet that he had only gotten more insufferable. But Oikawa wasn't their captain anymore. They had to use this chance, had to show Oikawa just what he had thrown away, rub in his face what he had missed out on having on his side, at his school, on his team. 

The boys he had tossed aside would rise from the ashes to defeat him. 

That was, if he could prevent Hinata from throwing up his breakfast. 

"At least wait until we get there," Kageyama hissed. He really didn't want puke on his pants. It had happened more than once, and it was disgusting. 

Once the bus arrived, Kageyama quickly ushered Hinata off and to the nearest bathroom where he finally retched into the toilet. Kageyama rubbed his back. 

"Relax, Shouyou. You don't need to get so worked up." 

"Like you're not nervous, too," Hinata retorted after he finished, voice hoarse. 

"Yeah, but at least I don't puke." 

"Yeah, whatever." 

Hinata got up from where he was kneeling in front of the toilet and Kageyama handed him a paper towel to wipe off his mouth. 

"Your breath stinks. Rinse out your mouth. The water fountain is outside." 

They left the bathroom and, as Hinata rinsed out his mouth, Kageyama could hear voices approaching. 

"What do you think the King is like now, Akira?" 

Kageyama blanched. No! It was too soon. They weren't ready; Hinata still looked awful. 

"Probably the same arrogant asshole as always, Yuutarou." 

"Dumbass, hurry up," he urged Hinata to rinse his mouth out faster and, as soon as he was done, tugged him away from the fountain. 

Kageyama was ashamed that he was acting like such a coward, but he ran, dragging Hinata behind him. They would confront them when they were ready, on the court. 

~*~ 

But being on the court was no better. Kageyama could feel his stomach drop to the ground when his toss went awry, causing Hinata to miss the quick. The match had been going well so far, but the timing had not been right to send a quick to Hinata until now, and he fucked it up! 

This was the reason the team was supposed to be able to rely on him, this was what enabled Hinata to spike. His toss was why he was on the court, and he couldn't even do it right. 

Kageyama bowed his head, expecting to be admonished, but instead of he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He looked up in confusion and saw Daichi standing in front of him. 

"Don't mind, Kageyama," he tried to reassure him. 

Hinata bounded over to Kageyama. "Don't mind, Tobio! I'll blast the next one right past them!" 

They were interrupted by Kindaichi's snicker. "Oh, is your new team actually indulging you, _King_? That's cute." 

Hinata whipped around to glare at Kindaichi through the net. "Shut up, Turnip head!" 

"What the hell are you doing antagonizing our setter like that when we're gonna crush you!" Kageyama heard Tanaka shout from somewhere behind them. 

"Oi! Kindaichi, quit antagonizing them!" Iwaizumi shouted from across the net, and he could hear Kindaichi and Kunimi muttering to each other, rolling their eyes. 

Kageyama looked around and he could see that the rest of the team, even Tsukishima, that asshole, was glaring at Kindaichi. He looked over at Hinata and he seemed just as surprised. 

Hinata picked up the ball and passed it to Kindaichi under the net. It was Aoba Jousai's turn to serve. 

"They're not indulging us. They're _supporting_ us. Something you wouldn't get," Hinata said and Kageyama stared at him in shock. He trusted their teammates already? 

Then again … They had backed them up. Their team had supported them! When had that ever happened before? 

"Come on, man, don't be so down!" Tanaka slapped him on the back. "Rely on us a little, will ya?" 

"Okay," Kageyama agreed. Hinata beamed at him. He would try. If Hinata trusted them, then Kageyama would too. 

Kageyama tossed to Tanaka next and his booming roar of triumph when he scored another point made him crack a smile. They could do this. 

They won the first set by a decent margin, and the second set had only been lost due to Hinata's serve going out. 

The team was kind and encouraging, reassurances for mistakes, and incessant cheering for any good play made. It was so different than what he was used to, where they only person he'd hear "don't mind" from was Hinata. They always had to support and encourage each other—no one else was going to do it, after all. Until now. 

The whole time, however, despite how lighthearted he felt with his teammates actually supporting them, there were doubts weighing him down. This was too easy. 

The third set was about to begin when all of a sudden the girls watching from the stands started screaming. 

Kageyama looked over to where they were pointing, and, sure enough, there he was. 

Thoughts buzzed through his head at lightening speed. 

_Why hasn't he been here since the beginning?_

_Isn't he being put in now?_

_Why is he … winking at me?_

"Having fun, Tobio-chan?" Oikawa called out to him, waving with that infuriating smile on his face. Kageyama glared at him. Oikawa was clearly the same as always. Oikawa's coach started talking to him before he could spout out any more taunts. 

The third set started, but Kageyama and Hinata were distracted. They kept glancing over at Oikawa doing his stretches, wondering when he would be put in the game. 

"Hey, are you alright?" Ennoshita asked Kageyama while the other team was getting ready to serve. 

"Yeah, just … It's weird you know, seeing them all again." 

"You and Hinata will be alright." 

Kageyama nodded. Ennoshita seemed like he knew what he was talking about. 

Then, right when they had gotten to the set point of their third set, Oikawa finally entered the game. They had been so close to not having to deal with him at all. 

"Be careful!" Kageyama warned his teammates. "His serves are difficult!" 

He hadn't actually seen Oikawa's serve in years, but he knew it was probably even better than before. 

"It's coming for you, Chibi-chan!" Oikawa announced as the ball flew over the net. Kageyama was right, not only had Oikawa made his serve even more powerful, he had somehow perfected his control, something Kageyama had yet to master. 

Hinata tried to receive it but the ball just bounced off of his arms, and as Hinata stumbled back from the force, the ball landed on the ground, giving Aoba Jousai another point. They were only two points behind them now. 

"Don't mind, Shouyou!" Kageyama reassured him. He saw Hinata brace himself for another serve, and sure enough Oikawa aimed it toward him again. But Hinata was strong and a fast learner, and while he couldn't send it to him, Hinata had managed to keep it in play. 

"Cover! Cover!" Hinata called out and Ennoshita dived down for it, managing to send it up in the air again, back over the net to the other side of the court. Aoba Jousai's other setter set up the toss for Iwaizumi to spike, but Tanaka and him put up a good block and managed to get a one-touch off of it. 

The captain received the ball and send it right to him. Kageyama smirked. This was perfect. 

He sent the toss flying, and of course Hinata came running and jumped for it, spiking the ball down onto the other side of the court, the noise it made reverberating throughout the gym. Hinata ran over to Kageyama and hugged him the rest of the team surrounding them and doing the same. 

"We did it!" Hinata shouted. They had won, for the first time as a team. They had defeated Oikawa! Kageyama knew they couldn't have done it without their support. 

He could see over the team's heads Oikawa attempting to cheer up his team. They all looked bitter about the loss. 

Kageyama couldn't care less. They were where they belonged. 

~*~ 

After the celebration Hinata had quickly bolted to the bathroom. Once he finished and was washing his hands at the sink, he heard the door creak open. He looked up only to see the exact people he didn't want to run into. 

"Oh, look who's here, if it isn't the cheater." Kindaichi stepped forward, crowding Hinata, who stepped back, intimidated. Kindaichi was tall with broad shoulders, and while Kunimi wasn't quite as tall, he still loomed over Hinata. They towered over him. Hinata backed up further until he felt the cold tile as his back hit the wall. 

"Y-you wanna fight?" Hinata stuttered out, raising trembling arms, fists formed and ready to strike. He was weak, but he would be damned if he'd let them walk right over him. 

Kunimi laughed. "You're pathetic. You don't even have the King to protect you now. What good do you think you'll do _alone_?" 

"You're lucky Oikawa-senpai came as late as he did," Kindaichi jumped in. "Your receiving is shit. That last one was a fluke." 

The three of them jumped when they heard the door open. 

"Hinata?" It was Sugawara! "You've been taking a long— _What is going on here_?" 

"Sugawara-senpai!" 

"Oh, nothing at all, Sugawara-san. We were just leaving. Right, Yuutarou?" 

"Oh yes, right." Kindaichi scrambled to leave the bathroom, hot on Kunimi's heels. 

Hinata looked up at Sugawara, eyes wide with panic, biting his lip nervously. 

"Hinata, are you alright?" Sugawara asked. 

"I'm okay." 

"Are you sure? You look scared. They are big guys. Are they the ones from your middle school?" 

Hinata nodded sheepishly. "Yeah … They don't like me and Tobio very much." 

"Well, what they did now is definitely not right. I'm going to report them to their captain." 

Hinata's eyes widened. "Oikawa-senpai?" He shook his head fiercely. "Please, no." 

"What's wrong, Hinata?" 

"Oikawa-senpai doesn't care. He _hates_ Tobio." 

"He may hate Kageyama, but he is still captain, that means that he has to—" 

"You don't understand, Sugawara-senpai!" Hinata shouted, interrupting him. "Tobio is, like, scary good at volleyball, and Oikawa-senpai, he hated that! He wouldn't teach him anything. He doesn't care about us!" 

"That was years ago, Hinata … Maybe he's changed?" Sugawara suggested. 

"No way," Hinata declared. He refused to believe it, with the way Oikawa was acting in the few minutes that he had been able to play? There was no way he suddenly became nice. 

"We can't just let them get away with they did, Hinata. It's not right." 

Hinata sighed. It wasn't like he could do anything, and Tobio trying to help would only make things worse with his uncreative insults and blunt honesty. 

"What about Iwaizumi-san?" Sugawara suggested. "He's the vice-captain right?" 

Hinata brightened. He remembered how Iwaizumi had helped them form their quick, how he tried to get Oikawa to listen to him. If anyone at Aoba Jousai would be on their side, it'd be him. 

Hinata nodded. "Okay." He followed Sugawara out of the bathroom and back into the gym, where Aoba Jousai's team was gathered. 

Hinata waited on the sidelines as Sugawara spoke to Iwaizumi on the other side of the gym. His hands were clenched into fists, squeezed so tight his fingernails bit into his palm angrily, heart beating fast and staccato in his chest. He could see some of Aoba Jousai's team staring at him, and across the gym, where the Karasuno team was gathered, he could see Kageyama looking at him worriedly. He shook his head. He didn't want Kageyama to come over there, he would bombard him with questions and he didn't want to deal with that right now, he just wanted to get this over with. 

Sugawara came back with scary-faced Iwaizumi, his expression spelling murder. 

Hinata gulped. Iwaizumi wasn't mad at him, was he? 

"Hinata, don't worry about those two troublemakers. I'll take care of it. We don't tolerate bullying on this team, no matter how much Trashykawa hates Kageyama." 

Hinata sighed in relief. He really should've had more faith in Iwaizumi. 

"Thank you, senpai." 

"Your quick has really grown. Good game today. I'll see you in the InterHigh." Iwaizumi cracked a small smile and Hinata beamed. 

"Yes, you will!" 

With Kageyama and his team behind him they would make through the InterHigh, all the way to the top and finally climb over that tall, tall wall to nationals. 


	9. Epilogue

"I want a curry bun!" 

"Beef!" 

"Pork!" 

"Oi, not all at once!" Hinata could hear Coach Ukai shout at them as the team was ordering their meat buns. 

He and Kageyama had started holding hands a few minutes ago, and only Suga and Daichi had noticed. 

His heart was pounding against his chest and the palm pressed against Kageyama's had turned clammy with sweat. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Kageyama's other hand had clenched into a fist so tight his knuckles were turning white. 

The hand that was holding Hinata's gripped just as tightly. 

Sure, they had bonded with the team, they had practiced together, laughed together, gone out for meat buns together, and had already played two games in the InterHigh. They had even helped Karasuno get its revenge against Datekou, and the entire team was riding the high of the win. 

Tomorrow was the match against Aoba Jousai, their first official match against Oikawa-senpai. They had won the practice match, but Hinata knew this would be on a different level. 

Tomorrow, the team would have to rely on each other like never before in order to defeat the obstacle before them and get just that little bit closer to nationals. 

After everything they had shared with the team, they didn't feel right hiding it anymore. Karasuno was not Kitagawa Daiichi. That chapter, that portion of their lives, was over. Now, they had a team that cared about them and accepted them, so they had to trust that they would continue accepting them, even with this. 

"Oho! Look at this!" Nishinoya pointed at their linked hands. 

Kageyama and Hinata looked away from each other, blushing profusely. 

"When did this happen?" Asahi asked. 

"Um, two and a half years ago," Hinata answered. 

Asahi's jaw dropped. 

"Hah! I knew it!" Nishinoya exclaimed. "Ryuu! You owe me 500 yen!" 

"Ehh?" Tanaka came back from the counter with his meat buns only to have Nishinoya in his face, demanding his money. 

"Aw, come on guys, really?" Tanaka complained. 

"Hey, you were the one that was sure that they were so dense that they couldn't see the sexual tension," Nishinoya retorted. "Now pay up." Tanaka sighed and fished out the money from his pocket. 

"Here! You happy now?" 

"Yup!" Nishinoya beamed and went back up to the counter to order more meat buns with his winnings. Hinata noticed Tsukishima reluctantly handing Ennoshita some coins. 

"Did you guys really take bets on this?" Kageyama questioned. 

Suga chuckled. "Well, I didn't, but it's been a hot topic," he explained. "However, I'm glad you guys decided to share this with us. Despite how _immature_ some of these idiots can be, we all accept you. You don't have to worry about us." 

Hinata beamed. "I'm so happy! We were both worried, especially Tobio!" 

"I was not, dumbass!" Kageyama protested. 

"Yes, you were!" 

"Was not!" 

"Was too!" 

"Who ordered pork buns?" Daichi called out. Hinata and Kageyama looked at each other and then dashed over to the counter. Hinata wasn't going to let Kageyama eat all the pork buns! He always had more than his share! 

They fought over the bag until Daichi presented them with another bag. "Will you two stop now?" 

"Yes, captain," They both agreed admonished. 

They headed over to the tables where Nishinoya, Asahi, and Tanaka were already sitting and joined them, stuffing their faces with the pork buns, racing to see who finished first. 

Once they finished, they relaxed in their chairs, stomachs full and hands causally linked. 

"I won that one," Kageyama declared. 

"No way ..." Hinata protested weakly. 

Tanaka and Nishinoya laughed, and Asahi fretted. 

_"You two shouldn't have eaten so fast! You're going to be sick!"_

Hinata smiled. "Okay, fine," he relented. "You won that one." 

"1035 wins for me, and 1035 wins for you," Kageyama muttered. "So we're tied then." 

"I guess we are." 

Hinata looked around at everyone talking and laughing, the atmosphere full of happiness. They both reveled in it: being here, having fun with their team, celebrating their win, and preparing for what was to come. 

Whether they fulfilled their dream and went to nationals, or they lost to Oikawa tomorrow, they were confident that every step of the way, they would fight as a team. 

 

**The End**


End file.
